Stryker has agreed to acquire Amplitude Vascular Systems (AVS) in a move to broaden the medtech giant’s vascular care portfolio and give it a foothold in the rapidly developing intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) market.
AVS’s Pulse IVL system delivers pressurised sound waves through an IVL balloon catheter to break up calcium deposits associated with calcified peripheral artery disease (PAD) to increase arterial patency. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the Boston-based company an investigational device exemption (IDE) in June 2024 to evaluate the system in a pivotal trial.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The ongoing POWER PAD 2 trial (NCT06457685) is evaluating Pulse IVL in 115 PAD patients with moderate-to-severe calcifications in the stenotic, superficial femoral and popliteal arteries.
Once AVS’s Pulse IVL is cleared for use in applicable markets, Stryker said the product will complement its existing peripheral vascular offerings and support the company’s aim to expand its presence in arterial disease treatment.
The acquisition’s value or its expected completion timeframe have not been publicly disclosed. This deal follows Stryker’s $4.9bn acquisition of thrombectomy specialist Inari Medical in February 2025.
“This acquisition represents an important step in advancing our vision to build a comprehensive peripheral vascular platform and address significant unmet clinical needs,” said Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo.
“Combining this innovation with Stryker’s scale and clinical expertise, we believe we can help expand treatment options for physicians and improve care for patients with calcified peripheral arterial disease,” Lobo continued.
The rise of IVL
The IVL market has turned heads among the medtech industry’s biggest players since Johnson & Johnson (J&J) paid $13.1bn to acquire Shockwave Medical in June 2024. Shockwave has been the only major player in the IVL market since 2015.
In the same manner as J&J, and now Stryker, Boston Scientific entered the IVL space via the acquisition of Bolt Medical in January 2025. Bolt’s system went on to gain FDA clearance in April 2025. Abbott is also eyeing the IVL space and received an investigational device exemption (IDE) from the FDA to evaluate its own coronary IVL system in March 2025.
According to GlobalData analysis, the competing products from Abbott and Boston Scientific could take until 2028 to be commercially available, thereby providing J&J with a commanding lead in both overall sales and research time, given that all current sales in the IVL market are Shockwave catheters.
Meanwhile, Elixir Medical is also developing an IVL system similar to AVS’s offering. The company shared positive safety and efficacy data for LithiX Hertz Contact in May 2024.
