Cerene is indicated for endometrial cryoablation in premenopausal women. Channel's PMA is based on 12-month results from the CLARITY trial, which showed procedural success with Cerene in about 77% of patients.

This article was adapted from "Building Interventional Gynecology," which appeared in START-UP, June 2010.

Mpathy Medical Devices s focused on one of the hottest medtech markets--women's health. The company's physiologically compatible and ultra-lightweight Smartmesh technology targets the female anatomy to treat urinary stress incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Although Smartmesh is based on the same polypropylene material that has been used as mesh by other companies for many years for hernia repair and pelvic floor reconstruction, Mpathy Medical has innovated certain characteristics that encourage new tissue growth.

The recent acquisition of ACMI by Gyrus boosts both companies considerably and creates a powerful competitor in urology, gynecology, and general surgery. But having created critical mass, have they also attracted the attention of much larger companies--threatening both the comfortable niches they occupy and their independence?