Dive Brief:

• Boston Scientific has agreed to purchase Claret Medical, a device maker that developed the Sentinel Cerebral Embolic Protection System, for $220 million in cash and a potential reimbursement-based milestone payment of up to $50 million, the company announced Friday. 
• The Sentinel System, which gained FDA clearance in 2017 and a CE mark in 2014, is used during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to protect the brain from calcium or tissue released into the bloodstream by a TAVR procedure. This is the only device cleared to protect patients from stroke during TAVR, according to Boston Scientific.
• The acquisition is Boston Scientific's latest bid to acquire other medical device makers; earlier this month, the device giant agreed to pay $202 million to buy Cryterion Medical. Claret Medical employs about 120 people and is based in Santa Rosa, California.

Dive Insight:

Boston Scientific says it was attracted to Claret Medical due to the effectiveness of its system in reducing the incidence of strokes during TAVR procedures and the opportunity for other uses in the future.

According to the company, the system reduced the incidence of strokes by 63% during the first 72 hours following a TAVR procedure during a trial. Azin Parhizgar, CEO of Claret Medical, said the system has been used in 60% of TAVR procedures at 1,000 centers, with 10,000 patients treated to date. 

"This acquisition will expand our commercial portfolio to include an important adjunctive offering aimed at improving TAVR patient outcomes," Kevin Ballinger, president of interventional cardiology at Boston Scientific, said in a statement. "We also see potential for future use in other left heart and endovascular procedures such as mitral valve repair and replacement, left atrial appendage closure and pulmonary vein isolation ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation."

Boston Scientific expects the purchase to close during Q3 2018.