Teleflex Inc. reported plans to sell its Acute Care, Interventional Urology and OEM businesses to two buyers for $2.03 billion. Intersurgical Ltd. will acquire the Acute Care and Interventional Urology units for $530 million. Additionally, private equity firms Montagu and Kohlberg are buying its OEM contract manufacturing business for $1.5 billion.
Good news bracketed July for Teleflex Inc. as it completed the acquisition of the vascular intervention business of Berlin-based Biotronik SE & Co. for €760 million (US$879 million) on July 1 and released stronger-than-expected second quarter results on the closing day of the month. Both bode well for the company as it proceeds through a thorough restructuring announced in February.
In a flurry of news releases on Feb. 27, Teleflex Inc. reported plans to buy the vascular intervention business of Biotronik SE & Co. for €760 million (US$791 million), said it intended to split into two separate public companies, floated a $300 million accelerated share repurchase program and reported the impending retirement of Chief Financial Officer Thomas Powell. The news sent the company stock down more than 20%.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remanded a patent case to district court after finding that a patent applicant need not invoke identical terminology when describing a central feature of a catheter technology across multiple patents.
The U.S. FDA announced a class I recall of single-use neurovascular guide catheters made by Medos International Sarl SA of Neuchatel, Switzerland, because of fractures in the device’s distal catheter shaft. The FDA stated that the issue, seen in the company’s Cerebase DA line of guide sheaths, has led Medos to recommend that customers quarantine any of the affected devices, although a root cause has not yet been identified.
Olympus Corp., of Center Valley, Pa., reported Nov. 9 a voluntary field corrective action for bronchoscopes prompted by complaints of endobronchial combustion during procedures that involve the use of high-frequency (HF) therapy equipment.
Teleflex Inc.’s agreement to acquire Palette Life Sciences AB for up to $650 million to boost its urology portfolio continues the company’s strategy of acquiring assets that are accretive to its growth rate. Palette has developed a number of urology products, key among them the Barrigel, a non-animal stabilized hyaluronic acid (NASHA) spacer that reduces radiation delivered to the rectum during prostate cancer radiation therapy. With radiation treatment trends increasing, the market for Barrigel is expected to grow.
Patent disputes over medical technology exert a significant influence on a company’s fortunes in the marketplace, and a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinforces yet again the importance of patent protection for device manufacturers. In a decision filed May 24, the Federal Circuit decreed that patents for catheters held by Teleflex Innovations were not rendered ineligible by what Dublin-based Medtronic plc had asserted was prior art, thus dealing Medtronic a blow in its efforts to have the five Teleflex patents in question rendered null.
The FDA posted a recall announcement for two catheter kits made by Arrow International LLC, a subsidiary of Wayne, Pa.-based Teleflex Inc., due to problems with the connectors used in the kits. While no injuries or deaths have been reported, the problem could lead to embolism and/or delayed delivery of needed therapeutic fluids to patients, making this a class I recall due to the risk of injury and death.
While other large med-tech companies are slimming their portfolios, Boston Scientific Corp. plans to beef its up considerably with the acquisition of Apollo Endosurgery Inc. for $10 per share for the 41.7 million shares outstanding or $417 million. Including the debt assumed, the all-cash deal has an enterprise value of $615 million. The $10 per share price represents a 67% premium to the Nov. 28, 2022, $6 close for Apollo shares. The companies expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2023.
