Medtronic has bought endoscopic diagnostic player Crospon. The takeover, which media reports value at about $45 million, gives Medtronic control of FDA-cleared systems for assessing motility disorders and supporting the treatment of esophageal strictures.
Irish business publication Fora picked up on the news late last week, before the Times ran its own report on the takeover. Both publications put the value of the deal around the $45 million mark, although some of that figure is tied to milestones.
In return for the outlay, Medtronic is adding Endoflip and Esoflip to its portfolio.
Endoflip is built on functional luminal imaging probe (Flip) technology developed by Crospon. The device consists of a balloon catheter that is inserted into the area being measured and injected with a conductive solution. This enables electrodes in the balloon to record voltage. In doing so, Endoflip builds up a picture of the geometry of the esophagus, pylorus and anal sphincters using high-resolution impedance planimetry.
Crospon’s second device, Esoflip, works in conjunction with Endoflip to enable doctors to measure stricture size throughout the balloon dilation process without fluoroscopy.
Medtronic sees the devices slotting into its broader gastrointestinal portfolio.
“The acquisition expands our portfolio for the management of gastrointestinal diseases. With Crospon, Medtronic will have solutions to esophageal diseases from diagnosis to therapy,” a spokesperson for Medtronic told The Times.
By Nick Paul Taylor
Source: Fierce Biotech
Avivi joins Bayer fresh off a yearlong stint as chief marketing officer of Advance Auto Parts, which followed about three years spent as marketing chief of another auto parts company, Tenneco. Rounding out her nearly 30-year career in marketing are leadership roles at consumer goods giants Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble.
Air Liquide S.A. (Paris) is continuing its development with the acquisition of Homecare activities in Belgium and the Netherlands. The two entities acquired in Belgium and the Netherlands support 10,000 patients living with respiratory insufficiency, sleep apnea syndrome or requiring infusion or nutrition treatments.
US-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay approximately $4.9 billion in cash to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences, a compatriot biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing innovative, protein-based immunotherapies.
