A Medical Device Daily

MIV Therapeutics (MIVT; Vancouver, British Columbia), a developer of next-generation biocompatible coatings and drug delivery technologies, reported that it has executed a letter of intent to acquire Sahajanand Medical Technologies (SMT; Surat, India), one of the world's largest manufacturers of advanced coronary stents.

Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

Sahajanand, which MIVT describes as a leader in the use of high-precision laser technology, manufactures both drug-eluting and non-drug-eluting stent (DES) devices.

Established in 1997, SMT is the largest privately held producer of coronary DES devices outside of North America, with its stents sold in more than 33 countries and reporting more than 25,000 implants.

"This acquisition creates powerful synergies that will immediately make MIVT a world-class stent company, uniting our pipeline of proprietary future science with SMT's advanced manufacturing and distribution capabilities," said Alan Lindsay, chairman, president and CEO of MIVT. "Access to SMT's facilities and personnel will also enable MIVT to accelerate our business and scientific strategies in the commercialization of our unique Hap-based coating technology for biocompatible and drug-eluting stents.

The companies said they plan to enter a definitive agreement within the next 30 days, pending the completion of routine auditing procedures.

MIVT said it expects SMT to generate roughly $20 million in revenues over the next year, and it estimates the market for its advanced stents to grow to about $100 million over the next three years.

Dhirajlal Kotadia, founder, president and CEO of SMT, developed the advanced laser-based technique to cut diamonds; with that innovation, 80% of the world's diamonds are now cut in India, the company noted.

MIVT said that since that technology has been used to produce coronary stents, large clinical registry studies have shown that SMT stents provide performance at par with the best products, involving more than 2,000 post-operative patients.

dj Orthopedics (San Diego), a company specializing in rehabilitation and regeneration products for the non-operative orthopedic and spine markets, reported purchasing substantially all of the assets of Superior Medical Equipment (SME) for roughly $3.7 million, plus additional payments based on achievement of certain operating targets.

SME is a provider of orthopedic soft goods, plus custom and off-the-shelf rigid bracing products, through a stock and bill business similar to dj Orthopedics' OfficeCare segment.

SME began operations in 1996 and it has about 46 customer locations in Connecticut, where dj Orthopedics has not previously had an OfficeCare presence, it said.

The acquired business of SME generated around $3 million in revenue in 2004.

"We are pleased to announce the acquisition of SME, a rapidly growing and profitable stock and bill business that is a complementary addition to our OfficeCare sales channel," said Les Cross, CEO of dj Orthopedics. "We are also pleased to welcome the SME team to dj Orthopedics, including John Flynn, owner.

"The strong customer relationships they have forged provide us with immediate market expansion for our OfficeCare segment in this important New England market. Furthermore, we are excited about the prospects of selling our full range of products, including our DonJoy Regeneration products, through SME."