Originally Published MX July/August 2004
BUSINESS NEWS
St. Jude Medical Completes Acquisition of Epicor Medical |
| Starks |
St. Jude Medical Inc. (St. Paul, MN) announced in June that it has completed its acquisition of Epicor Medical Inc. (Sunny- vale, CA).
St. Jude paid $185 million in cash for all of the outstanding capital stock in Epicor that it did not already own. St. Jude made an initial $15 million investment in Epicor in May 2003. The original agreement enabled St. Jude to acquire all of Epicor provided that certain clinical and regulatory milestones were met.
The acquisition ex-pands St. Jude's offering of devices and catheter systems to diagnose, suppress, and cure atrial fibrillation (AF). Epicor develops high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) devices for the treatment of AF, which is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and a significant worldwide healthcare challenge.
Epicor has received 510(k) clearance from FDA for its HIFU system. The system has also been approved for use in Europe. St. Jude said it would initiate limited sales of the system in the third quarter of 2004.
"The acquisition of Epicor Medical further strengthens St. Jude Medical's position in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation," said Daniel J. Starks, chairman, president, and CEO of St. Jude. "HIFU technology, together with Epicor's intellectual property and devices, represents an important addition to the company's for clinicians to treat cardiac rhythm disorders."
Epicor president and CEO Casey Tansey said, "The Epicor team looks forward to joining St. Jude Medical and continuing the efforts of both companies to treat atrial arrhythmias with multiple technologies, leveraging St. Jude Medical's unparalleled access to the cardiac surgery clinical community."
Epicor's technology allows an ablation device to be placed on the outside of a beating heart and delivers HIFU energy across the wall of the heart to create precise and complete lines of cardiac tissue ablation.
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