Medtronic to Acquire Invatec For $350 Million

Acquisition Will Expand Product Offering and Pipeline for Cardiovascular Interventions

Press release reprinted from www.medtronic.com

Editor's Note: Invatec was featured in the October 2009 issue of IN VIVO. Purchase "Invatec: Translating Global Success in Vascular Devices to the US Market" to learn more about Invatec's track record, management team and strategic vision for the U.S. vascular device and interventional cradiology markets.

MINNEAPOLIS – Jan. 25, 2010 – Moving to expand its impact on peripheral vascular disease, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Invatec, a developer of innovative medical technologies for the interventional treatment of cardiovascular disease, and two affiliated companies: Fogazzi, which provides polymer technology to Invatec; and Krauth Cardiovascular, which distributes Invatec products in Germany. The agreement calls for Medtronic to make an initial payment of $350 million to Invatec and additional payments of up to $150 million for Invatec’s achievement of specific milestones.

Invatec’s array of stents, angioplasty balloons and accessory products complement therapies and products in Medtronic’s CardioVascular business, adding a robust peripheral franchise and pipeline, while enhancing its coronary product offering. Notably, Invatec has brought four drug-eluting balloons to market, covering the coronaries and lower-extremity vessels – the only company worldwide with this distinction. It is a pioneer in the development and commercialization of lesion-specific solutions, including therapies for below-the-knee and carotid artery disease.

“Medtronic’s acquisition of Invatec will accelerate the growth of our CardioVascular business, adding important new products for the coronary and peripheral vascular markets,” said Scott Ward, senior vice president at Medtronic and president of the CardioVascular business.

“Invatec brings to Medtronic an established international business with a European center of technology development and manufacturing, as well as a strong history of delivering products and high-value solutions to the interventional market,” said Andrea Venturelli, co-founder, chief executive and technical officer of Invatec. 

Invatec co-founder Stefan Widensohler, vice president of global sales and marketing, said, “Our integration into Medtronic creates a tremendous opportunity to leverage Medtronic’s global scale and scope across geographies and functions, from R&D to sales and marketing, to advance the interventional treatment of cardiovascular disease.”  

Cardiovascular interventions represent the world’s largest sector of the medical device market, generating $10 billion annually on a global basis. A significant growth opportunity within this sector is peripheral vascular disease, a large and underserved market currently estimated at $2 billion annually and growing faster than 10 percent per year. Approximately 20 million people in the United States and Western Europe alone suffer from peripheral vascular disease, which causes pain, reduces mobility, inhibits wound healing and leads to approximately 250,000 amputations per year. Together, Medtronic and Invatec will be better positioned to address these and other unmet clinical needs in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, the world’s leading cause of death.

For more about Invatec see www.invatec.com

For more about Medtronic see www.medtronic.com

*  *  *

Make sure you sign up for your FREE weekly email updates including the latest news and analysis from "The Gray Sheet," IN VIVO, Medtech Insight and Start Up.