Boston Scientific buys CryoCor
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Boston Scientific expands its cardiac ablation catheter offerings through the $17.6 million acquisition of cryoablation technology firm CryoCor, announced April 16. The deal builds on a June 2007 collaboration between the firms for co-development of a console to power a Boston Scientific-developed cryo-ablation balloon catheter for atrial fibrillation. CryoCor's own cryoablation system, which disrupts cardiac arrhythmias using extreme cold to create lesions in cardiac tissue, was approved last August in the United States for atrial flutter. The same month, CryoCor became the first company to complete enrollment in a randomized pivotal trial for an ablation catheter to treat atrial fibrillation (1"The Gray Sheet" Feb. 4, 2008, p. 8). Boston Scientific's electrophysiology offerings, including Blazer and Chilli radiofrequency energy-based ablation catheters, are used to treat arrhythmias such as atrial flutter and ventricular tachycardia. CryoCor reported a net loss of $15.8 million in 2007 on sales of $591,000. Boston Scientific will pay $1.35 per share for the San Diego company, representing a 19.5% premium over its April 15 closing price of $1.13