Edwards Lifesciences Corp. acquisition of Baltimore-based Harpoon Medical Inc. gives Edwards another minimally invasive tool to treat diseased mitral valves and rewards the faith of Epidarex Capital, an early investor in Harpoon Medical, that focuses on early-stage medical technologies in markets overlooked by most other venture capitalists.
Harpoon Finds Its Whale: Edwards Spends Up To $250m For Beating-Heart Mitral Repair Option
Edwards Lifesciences exercised a 2015 option to buy Harpoon, a spin-off from the University of Maryland's School of Medicine, for $100m up-front and up to $150m more in milestones, to add Harpoon's beating-heart mitral valve surgery technology to its growing pipeline of transcatheter and surgical mitral valve repair and replacement devices. The deal also validates the investing approach of Epidarex Capital, one of Harpoon's early investors, which looks for early-stage medtech opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic states.
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