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
With a first to market advantage, Ferring’s Rebyota has seen early positive adoption from gastroenterologists and infectious disease specialist in the first month post-launch. As part of their Launch Dynamix™: C.diff service, Spherix reports, while new monthly initiations are modest, a majority of physicians trialing Rebyota report high satisfaction.
Global biopharmaceutical firm UCB has entered an early drug discovery collaboration with Aitia. The collaboration is aimed at discovering and validating new drug targets and drug candidates that are linked to clinical endpoints causally in Huntington’s disease, a debilitating genetic disorder.
Foundry Innovation & Research 1—known by its much catchier acronym, FIRE1—announced Wednesday the close of a $25 million financing round. It was led by a pair of new investors in the company: Andera Partners and Novo Holdings, the holding and investment company that serves as the controlling shareholder for Novo Nordisk and Novozymes.
