January 12, 2009 - Medtronic Inc. today said it entered into an agreement whereby Medtronic will acquire Ablation Frontiers in a move to expand Medtronic’s ablation technology offerings for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.
Metronic said the deals calls for an initial payment of $225 million plus potential additional payments contingent upon achievement of certain clinical milestones. The acquisition has been approved by Ablation Frontiers shareholders, and is subject to regulatory clearance. The transaction is expected to close in Medtronic’s fourth fiscal quarter, ending April 24, 2009.
The goal of Medtronic’s newly formed AF Solutions franchise is to be the physician partner of choice for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation by bringing breakthrough AF therapies to the patients and physicians that are simpler, safer, effective, and offer more predictable procedure times than current treatment methods, the company said.
Following Medtronic’s recent acquisition of CryoCath Technologies Inc., a leader in cryoablation treatments for AF, the addition of Ablation Frontiers’ anatomically designed, catheter-based ablation technologies and its unique radiofrequency (RF) energy system will allow Medtronic to deliver the industry’s broadest range of therapies, Medtronic said.
In 2006, Ablation Frontiers received CE Mark to begin marketing its system of catheters and the RF generator in the European Union. Ablation Frontiers is conducting a clinical trial under an FDA investigational device exemption (IDE) to gain approval for permanent, or chronic, AF in the U.S.
For more information: www.ablationfrontiers.com, www.medtronic.com