St Jude Medical has announced the completion of its acquisition of Nanostim, a privately-owned developer of miniaturised, leadless pacemakers. The acquisition adds reportedly the world’s first and only leadless pacemaker to the St Jude Medical product portfolio and culminates a two-year partnership between the two companies during which St Jude Medical invested in and collaborated with Nanostim throughout its product development and commercialisation initiatives.
The Nanostim leadless pacemaker is designed to be implanted directly into the heart via a minimally invasive procedure. The device is delivered using a steerable catheter through the femoral vein, eliminating the need to surgically create a pocket for the pacemaker and insulated wires (called leads) that have historically been recognized as the most vulnerable component of pacing systems. The Nanostim leadless pacemaker recently received CE Mark approval and will be available soon in select European markets. It also recently received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conditional approval for its Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application and pivotal clinical trial protocol to begin evaluating Nanostim leadless technology in the US.
On May 3, 2011, St Jude Medical and Nanostim entered into a series of agreements pursuant to which St Jude Medical made an investment in, and obtained an exclusive option to acquire, Nanostim. This transaction results from St Jude Medical’s exercise of its exclusive option under those agreements. Under the terms of a merger agreement entered into between the parties, St. Jude Medical paid $123.5 million to Nanostim shareholders at the closing of the transaction. The merger agreement also provides for additional cash payments of up to $65 million, which are contingent upon both the achievement and timing of certain revenue-based milestones.
Commenting on the acquisition, Nanostim CEO Drew Hoffman said, “Nanostim’s focus on bringing innovative technologies to the market closely aligns with St. Jude Medical’s commitment to developing leading products and treatment options for patients and physicians worldwide. We are pleased to have recently received CE Mark approval for the Nanostim leadless pacemaker. Nanostim looks forward to now working as part of St. Jude Medical to further advance our commercialisation initiatives and expand this technology into new and existing markets.”
EH News Bureau
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