Dive Brief:
- Medtronic has secured an option to acquire coronary artery disease management company CathWorks for as much as $585 million plus milestones.
- The deal sees Medtronic immediately invest $75 million in CathWorks and agree to co-promote its FFRangio System in the U.S., Europe and Japan. FFRangio delivers multi-vessel fractional flow reserve results without the use of an invasive pressure wire or hyperemic stimulus to evaluate the impact of the narrowing of coronary arteries.
- Medtronic will have the option to acquire CathWorks if it meets certain milestones. CathWorks also has the right to compel Medtronic to complete the acquisition if it chooses not to exercise its option.
Dive Insight:
Medtronic made a minority investment in CathWorks in 2018, positioning it to monitor the progress of the Israeli startup. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted 510(k) clearance to FFRangio late in 2018. Later, CathWorks raised $60 million across series C and series D financing rounds and received approval and national reimbursement in Japan.
Having seen CathWorks’ progress, Medtronic has tightened its ties to the startup, upping its investment in the company and immediately stepping in to co-promote FFRangio in the markets where it is available commercially. The deal ends CathWorks’ search for a partner.
“CathWorks has been looking for the right partner to help us expand the reach of the FFRangio system globally,” CathWorks CEO Ramin Mousavi said in a statement. “Medtronic not only brings the strength of its commercial team to CathWorks, but a reputation of investing and defining new opportunities to revolutionize care.”
For Medtronic, the deal presents a way to strengthen its cardiovascular portfolio. CathWorks pitches its technology as a tool that combines angiograms and computational science to support coronary artery disease decisions, for example by showing where fractional flow reserve drops occur. In a pooled analysis of five studies, FFRangio achieved a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 94%.
