Artivion has acquired Endospan in a $135m upfront deal, exercising a license option to buy the Israeli company upon US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its NEXUS aortic graft stent system.
As per a strategic deal signed in 2019, Artivion secured the rights to purchase Endospan upon the latter’s US approval of Nexus.
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Along with the upfront payment, US-based medical device company Artivion’s acquisition also includes potential additional payments to Endospan of up to $200m, dependent on Nexus’s commercial performance in the US over the next two years.
FDA-approved on 7 April, Nexus is designed for treating high-risk surgical patients with aortic arch disease, which includes conditions such as chronic dissections of the aorta or aortic arch syndrome. The aorta, a cane-shaped vessel that circulates blood from the lower-left part of the heart, is the largest blood vessel in the human body. Artivion has acted as the exclusive distributor of the system across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa since 2019.
According to Artivion CEO Pat Mackin, the company’s acquisition of Endospan and its Nexus system completes its “three-pronged aortic arch portfolio”.
Other products in Artivion’s portfolio that address aortic arch pathologies include stent graft Arcevo LSA and its AMDS prosthesis for addressing aortic dissection DeBakey Type I (ADTI) with malperfusion.
Mackin continued: “With this acquisition, we are also adding a robust pipeline of next-generation arch technologies currently in development that we expect will further expand and strengthen our leadership position in the aortic arch market over time.”
Aortic arch syndrome affects the great arteries that branch from the aortic arch, resulting in diminished blood supply to the areas supplied by these vessels. Research indicates that over 120,000 patients in the US and Europe are affected by the disease annually, yet only around 25% of patients are diagnosed or treated. According to Endospan, this is due to factors including the fact that patients with excessive risk factors may not be eligible for surgery, while the anatomical complexity of the aorta plays a further role in patients not receiving treatment.
Endospan CEO Kevin Mayberry commented: “The FDA approval of the Nexus system was a pivotal moment for aortic surgeons seeking a technology specifically designed to treat the ascending and aortic arch.
“With Artivion’s acquisition of Endospan, this differentiated technology is being positioned within a company that understands the aortic space through a differentiated portfolio serving the multidisciplinary approach of open, endo and hybrid solutions.”
