Deals
At this year’s LSX Nordic conference, experts from Baxter, Philips and Novo Nordisk described key attributes they look for when selecting companies for partnerships or acquisitions and provided advice to founders on how and when to start positioning their start-ups for such opportunities.
This week, J&J announced that it was buying heart failure device firm V-Wave; Procept got the FDA’s OK on a clinical trial of its Aquablation treatment for prostate cancer; and CMS began to consider Medicare reimbursement of Abbott’s TriClip tricuspid repair device.
Biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has partnered with start-up “unicorn” Owkin to develop an AI-powered tool to prescreen for gBRCA mutations on the basis of morphological features in digitized pathology slides. Built on extensive, high-quality data sourced from the France-based PortrAIt consortium, the AI will help to prioritize patients for further testing, streamlining the diagnostic process, Owkin says.
This week, the FDA announced a new head of its device evaluation office; synthetic genomics firm Constructive Bio landed $58m in funding; and Natera got a permanent injuction against NeoGenomics Labs' RaDaR assay.
Philip Morris described a scenario of being essentially blacklisted by the health care sector and its CDMO partners as it threw in the towel on its £1.1bn acquisition of UK inhalation specialist Vectura. It agreed to offload the firm at a fraction of the initial cost.
The companies intend to co-market Siemens Healthineers’ Multitom Rax as part of Medtronic’s AiBLE ecosystem, which combines advanced technologies in navigation, robotics, imaging, data analytics, and AI to enhance the precision and predictability of spine and cranial surgeries.
UK-based Biocomposites will begin selling in the UK its next-generation osteoinductive bone graft substitute, NanoBone, which came with its acquisition of Artoss GmbH in June 2023. Meanwhile, the company has purchased remaining shares in the manufacturers of SYNICEM and Subiton antibiotic bone cements and preformed antibiotic-loaded spacers.
J&J’s “pants down” moment with Auris could permanently change how medtech M&A is conducted. Build-to-buy arrangements, which leave companies’ destinies in the hands of their owners, are likely to replace current earn-out models.
Haleon will launch Futura Medical's FDA-approved OTC medical device for erectile dysfunction in the US before the end of the year. Already available to pre-order online on Amazon, Eroxon represents the firm's first move into the sexual health category.
Clue Plus members will have access to 50% off a Headspace subscription for tailored guidance, support and validation to help manage cycle-related stress and improve overall well-being.
An interactive look at medtech and diagnostics deals made during August 2024. Data courtesy of Biomedtracker.
An interactive look at medtech and diagnostics deals made during July 2024. Data courtesy of Biomedtracker.
Edwards Lifesciences’ Critical Care business “invented the hemodynamic monitoring category, and its solutions are currently used in more than 10,000 hospitals globally to better understand the cardiovascular condition in real-time for critically ill patients, which helps improve outcomes,” says BD, which sees synergies and new innovation opportunities across the groups’ data sets and platforms. Acquired for $4.2bn cash, Critical Care generated more than $900m in revenue in 2023.
This week, a Delaware court awarded Auris Health shareholders $1bn in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson; Abbott recalled some FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors; and McKesson purchased a controlling interest in a Florida cancer care chain.
Sonio says its acquisition by global medical equipment company Samsung Medison is a wrap. Plans for the deal were announced earlier this year.
Getinge says it plans to pay about $477m for organ transport and services company Paragonix Technologies in an effort to “redefine the market standard in transplantation.”
J&J buys heart failure implant company V-Wave, whose Ventura Interatrial Shunt could be the first device of its kind aimed to reach the roughly 800,000 patients in the US who experience heart failure and reduce ejection fraction every year.
Global investment firm Carlyle has agreed to pay $3.8b for Baxter International’s Kidney Care unit. The newly spun-off business will be known as Vantive.
Unilabs and C2N Diagnostics signed a multi-year agreement that will expand access to C2N’s Alzheimer’s tests in Europe and other countries.
Medtronic and Abbott announced partnership to integrate Abbott’s CGM sensor with Medtronic’s insulin pump, which marks a major departure from Medtronic’s former “closed-system” approach. Medtronic also announced FDA clearance of its Simplera CGM, paving the way for its use in smartpens.