Japanese medical device company Olympus Corporation announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Israeli medical device manufacturer BioProtect, which has developed an implant to protect healthy tissue from radiation damage during prostate cancer treatment.
Olympus will pay $270 million for BioProtect. This figure is higher than the $200 million that was reported to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) in January by Almeda Ventures (TASE: AMDA), a limited partnership in healthcare investments, which owns 4% of BioProtect. Aty the time Almeda said that BioProtect had signed a memorandum of understanding to be acquired by an unnamed investor.
Other investors who will profit from the acquisition include: TriVentures, which invested in the company in 2020; Consensus BioGroup led by Vincent Tchenguiz, which invested in the Xenia incubator from which the company grew, MVB, and KB Investments, and the state’s Israel Innovation Authority, which also invested in the company at the incubator stage.
The revolutionary balloon that focuses radiation
Radiation treatment for prostate cancer puts the patient at risk of losing sexual function or damaging the sphincters, as these systems literally surround the prostate. The product is a type of balloon made of transparent polymer, which is placed in the area when uninflated, and then inflated by inserting a biodegradable gel. The balloon moves the sensitive organs away from the prostate, making it easier to focus the radiation only on the prostate.
BioProtect was founded in 2004 by urologist and medical device entrepreneur Dr. Adrian Paz, Prof. Avi Domb, currently president of the Academic Heart Center in Jerusalem and formerly Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Science, and biomed entrepreneur Dr. Shaul Shochat.
The company spawned a spin-off called OrthoSpace, which uses the same technology to ease tissue friction to reduce pain in the orthopedic market, and in 2019 the subsidiary was sold to the orthopedic corporation Stryker for $110 million cash and an option for a deal of up to $220 million depending on milestones.
About two years after the acquisition, OrthoSpace CEO Itay Barnea, left Stryker and was appointed BioProtect CEO, in the hope that he could promote it in the same way.
"Two giants built the market for us"
"My transition from OrthoSpace to BioProtect was natural," Barnea tells "Globes." "I knew the technology was interesting, and I knew the medical device sector in the US, even if not the company's specific market. The person who initiated the move was Michal Geva, a partner at TriVentures that invested in the company, whom I knew from OrthoSpace."
Barnea says BioProtect was the first company to develop a product for separating healthy tissue from the prostate during radiation. "But it's hard to raise money for a market that doesn't exist. In the years when the company was fighting for its existence, two more rivals came to the market and were acquired by corporations, Augmentinx was acquired by Boston Scientific in 2018 and Palette by Teleflex in 2023, each for $500 million, and this is because they came to the market before us. But these companies do not produce a separation balloon, but rather injectable gels that give a less precise result. We have much better control over the precise tightening of the balloon and therefore of the tissues.
"Ultimately, our product came to the market after the other companies had already created the interest and also obtained insurance indemnity codes for products in this category. We still had the best product, so this dynamic actually made it easier for us."
Geva says, "There was also a change in the market that helped the company a lot. The radiation protocol for prostate cancer has changed from about 40 radiations, each at a low intensity, to a protocol of about five radiations, but at a higher intensity. This protocol makes things easier for patients but carries a higher risk of side effects, so protecting healthy tissue is more important."
"Very few side effects"
In 2020, the company first raised enough money to conduct a significant clinical trial, which it completed despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic, and in 2023 it received US FDA marketing approval. In 2024, the company already had sales of $8 million, and in 2025 this rose to $14.5 million - an impressive launch for a small medical device company.
Barnea says, "A few months ago, we published an article summarizing four years of monitoring the use of our technology, which has so far been used in about 11,000 procedures, mainly in the US market. According to this data, in relation to patients in whom our technology was not used, we see very few side effects, in some cases even an improvement in the condition compared with before screening. Without treatment, or using competing products, patients deteriorate after irradiation."
Is the product used in Israel?
Barnea: "Only at Rambam Hospital (in Haifa). So far, we have focused all our energy in the US, and now part of my role is to support Olympus in the global launch of the product, including in Israel."
BioProtect has additional products in development, for use in tissue protection in other types of interventional oncology treatments as well as in aesthetic and general surgeries.
The company currently has 130 employees in the US and Israel, and Olympus intends to maintain all operations, including production in Netanya. Part of the contribution to the deal will be held in trust until production continuity is ensured.
Olympus said, "BioProtect brings to the market a highly differentiated solution with high clinical value and impressive commercial success."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 26, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.