St Jude Medical acquires MediGuide
31 December 2008
St Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) and MediGuide Inc. has announced
the signing of a definitive merger agreement and simultaneous closing of
the merger whereby St. Jude Medical has acquired all of the outstanding
shares of MediGuide Inc., including the 41.3% interest owned by Elbit
Systems Ltd., for $283 million in cash and the assumption of net
liabilities totalling approximately $17 million.
MediGuide has developed a sophisticated navigation system, the
Medical Positioning System (gMPS), that uses proprietary technology for
real-time tracking of sub-millimeter sized sensors. These sensors can be
mounted on needles, guidewires, catheters, or other medical devices used
for minimally-invasive intra-body navigation. The 3-D position and
orientation of the sensors can be calculated in real time and projected
graphically on a fluoroscope, CT, MRI, ultrasound, or 3-D reconstructed
image of the anatomy.
The gMPS system is intended to provide a comprehensive solution for
motion artifacts caused by patient heartbeats, respiration, or other
movements. The goal of the gMPS system is to increase the accuracy and
amount of information available to a physician during a catheterization
or other minimally invasive procedure while reducing the risk of
exposure to radiation for the patient and medical team.
MediGuide's gMPS technology and its gMPS Enabled Guided Measurement
Catheter (GMC) are European CE Mark certified and are currently limited
to investigational use only in the United States.
“Today’s announcement reflects St. Jude Medical’s commitment to product
leadership and our strategy of supporting superior technology that gives
physicians the most control possible in their effort to enhance patient
outcomes," said Daniel J. Starks, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of St. Jude Medical.
“In addition to continuing our strong commitment to developing our
atrial fibrillation platform, we believe MediGuide’s proprietary
technology may also extend across a variety of other product categories,
including cardiac rhythm management, interventional cardiology,
neurology and structural heart disease. We look forward to bringing this
technology into our portfolio so that we can further develop and capture
these potential opportunities.”
Gera Strommer, president and chief executive officer of MediGuide,
said, “We look forward to working with the St. Jude Medical team. With
their support, we will have the resources to more fully capitalize on
MediGuide’s innovations and successfully move through the next stage of
our development plans.” Mr. Strommer and Uzi Eichler, vice president of
technology for MediGuide, are expected to join St. Jude Medical.
Joseph Ackerman, president and chief executive officer of Elbit
Systems, said, “We are pleased to have a company such as St. Jude
Medical recognize the value of MediGuide. We believe the acquisition
provides MediGuide an excellent opportunity to continue its growth,
while allowing Elbit Systems to focus on its core business areas.”
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