Boston Scientific has struck a $50 million deal to acquire the rest of Securus Medical. The medtech giant is paying $40 million upfront to add Securus’ FDA-cleared temperature monitoring system to its portfolio of cardiac rhythm products.
Securus’ device consists of a catheter-based probe that maps temperature changes in the esophagus second by second. Such information is useful to doctors who treat arrhythmias with cardiac ablation.
The application of extreme energy to destroy the muscle that causes abnormal heart rhythms is well established, but it carries risks. The energy can kill tissue in the neighboring esophagus. In rare cases, patients develop atrioesophageal fistulas, a life-threatening complication.
Working out of the Cleveland Clinic’s Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, Securus developed its infrared thermographic system to ensure doctors know the temperature of the esophagus and can respond to changes to cut the risk of complications. Other devices, such as Circa Scientific’s S-CATH, perform a similar function.
Securus came to market after its competitors, but the company thinks its device offers advantages.
“In contrast to current standards of care for esophageal temperature monitoring that measure temperature at one or a few fixed locations and have a slow temporal response, this system continuously reads the temperature of the esophagus from thousands of points and provides physicians with an intuitive 360 degree view that refreshes every second,” Securus CEO Steven Girouard, Ph.D., said in a statement.
Girouard cited the probe’s ability to take accurate temperature recordings without touching the tissue as another advantage. The no-contact probe should be easier to position than those that must touch the tissue.
Boston Scientific indicated its interest in the technology when it led a $10 million series C round in Securus in 2016. Securus raised the cash to support further development of the device and went on to win FDA approval for another thermal imaging probe and interface unit earlier this year.
That done, the company has accepted Boston Scientific’s offer of $40 million upfront and $10 million in milestones to buy out its other shareholders. Boston Scientific plans to start selling the latest version of Securus’ device in the first half of next year.
By Nick Paul Taylor
Source: Fierce Biotech
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