Dive Brief:
- Boston Scientific has agreed to pay $202 million in cash to acquire Cryterion Medical, a privately held company developing a cryoablation treatment for atrial fibrillation.
- The medical device giant has been an investor in Carlsbad, Calif.-based Cryterion since 2016 and the pact hands it the roughly 65 percent remaining stake it does not already own.
- Cryterion Medical’s cryoablation system is being studied in a clinical trial in Europe that will be submitted for CE mark approval, expected in early 2019, Boston Scientific said in a news release. An investigational device exemption (IDE) application will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with a U.S. clinical study expected to begin enrolling patients in 2019.
Dive Insight:
The Marlborough, Mass.-based medical device maker has stepped up its heart device investments this year, taking an equity stake worth $90 million in valve treatment company Millipede and buying the remaining shares of ablation monitoring system maker Securus Medical Group for $40 million.
Patients with atrial fibrillation, a common form of irregular heartbeat, are often treated with anti-arrhythmic drugs or cardiac ablation, in which radiofrequency (heating) or cryothermal (cooling) energy is delivered to areas of the heart responsible for the abnormal heart rhythm.
At least 2.7 million Americans are living with atrial fibrillation, which can increase the risk for blood clots, stroke and heart failure, according to the American Heart Association.
The global electrophysiology market is forecast to reach $5 billion in 2018, with single-shot ablation therapies possibly the fastest-growing sub-segment with sales expected to top $1 billion over the next few years, Boston Scientific said.
Adding Cryterion Medical’s cryothermal system will position Boston Scientific as the first device maker to offer both cryothermal and radiofrequency (RF) single-shot, balloon-based ablation therapies in its portfolio, the company said.
"The acquisition of Cryterion Medical enhances our AF ablation procedure offerings, allowing physicians to select a therapeutic option based on clinical preference and specific patient needs," said Kenneth Stein, chief medical officer for Boston Scientific in a statement.
Designed for better maneuverability and positioning in challenging anatomy, Cryterion’s system showed strong effectiveness and a promising safety profile in initial study results, the company said.
