Global medical device giant Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) today announced it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Israeli diagnostics company CathWorks. Kfar Saba-based CathWorks has developed a non-invasive diagnostic systems, which is an alternative to catheters, and could to transform how coronary artery disease is diagnosed and treated.
Medtronic will invest up to $75 million in CathWorks, in addition to an unknown amount that it has invested in 2018 and will begin marketing the company's FFRangio catheter alternative system in the US, Europe and Japan, where it already has approval.
Medtronic has also agreed an option to acquire CathWorks once certain undisclosed milestones are met. CathWorks will also have the right to compel Medtronic to acquire the company if Medtronic chooses not to exercise its option. The acquisition option agreement will expire in July 2027, with an estimated acquisition of up to $585 million and further payments after the acquisition.
Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a diagnostic technique that evaluates the physiologic impact of coronary artery stenosis, making it an important part of the decision-making process when managing patients with coronary artery disease.
CathWorks was founded in 2013 by Guy Lavi, who served as its CEO until 2018, together with Dr. Ifat Lavi, and Prof. Ran Kornowski, head of cardiology at Rabin Medical Center. The company's CEO is Ramin Mousavi, who previously served in senior positions at Baxter and Edwards.
The company has raised $80 million to date including a $30 million in February 2019 and another $30 million in January 2021. The main investors in CathWorks are the Triventures Fund of Michal Geva and the cardiologists Martin Leon and Peter Fitzgerald, Pontifax, Quark Venture and Deerfield Management. The company also has two strategic investors, in addition to Medtronic, that have not been named.
CathWorks has 100 employees - 50 in Kfar Saba and 50 in the US.
Medtronic SVP and president Coronary & Renal Denervation business Jason Weidman said, "Data and AI-enabled technologies have been shown to drive improved workflow and patient outcomes across the healthcare ecosystem. In cardiology specifically, these new advances in technology provide clinicians with the opportunity to gain additional information to improve and evolve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with CAD."
Mousavi added, "CathWorks has been looking for the right partner to help us expand the reach of the FFRangio system globally. Medtronic not only brings the strength of its commercial team to CathWorks, but a reputation of investing and defining new opportunities to revolutionize care. I am excited about the possibilities ahead as we partner with Medtronic to expand the use of our technology to the U.S., Japan and Europe."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 12, 2022.
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