A Medical Device Daily

C. R. Bard (Murray Hill, New Jersey) reported that it has acquired certain assets from PST (Gainesville, Florida) related to new self-expanding nitinol stent technology. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Self-expanding stents are used to maintain patency within anatomical lumens, such as those associated with peripheral vascular, urological, biliary and tracheal-bronchial applications.

The technology acquired includes a development-stage stent designed to have the flexibility to meet the demands of tortuous and dynamic anatomy.

“The PST device currently in development represents an excellent strategic fit and enhancement to Bard's stent portfolio,“ said Timothy Ring, chairman and CEO of C.R. Bard. “The related technology and intellectual property also provide a platform for the development of further generations of products. We expect this acquisition to play an important role in the future of our self-expanding stent franchise.“

As part of the transaction, the company said it would record an acquisition-related research and development charge of about $6 million in 1Q06.

C. R. Bard is a maker of medical technologies in the fields of vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialty products.

In the latest developments on the Guidant (Indianapolis) acquisition front, which on Tuesday saw Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts) offer a whopping $80 a share or a total of about $27.2 billion (Medical Device Daily, Jan. 18, 2006), that company acknowledged the statement by Guidant's board's that its offer was “superior“ to Johnson & Johnson's (J&J; New Brunswick, New Jersey) previous offer of $71 a share.

“We are pleased with Guidant's response,“ Boston Scientific said in a statement, “and we look forward to working together to complete the transaction.“

In a statement of its own, J&J acknowledged that it had received notice from the Guidant board of directors that the acquisition proposal received from Boston Sci constitutes a superior proposal to its most recent offer.

The company said it considers the proposal from Boston Sci to be a “highly dilutive and leveraged transaction based on extremely aggressive business projections and, as such, one that will not provide $80 per share in value to Guidant shareholders.“

It added that it would consider its “alternatives“ under the existing merger agreement with Guidant. One of these alternatives could involve the $675 million break-up fee that Guidant would have to pay J&J if it ultimately goes with the Boston Scientific offer.