Covidien, like its soon-to-be acquirer Medtronic, has bought its second medical company within the past week.
The Ireland-based supplier said Thursday that it took over Sapheon, a Morrisville, N.C.-based manufacturer of devices that help treat venous diseases. Covidien did not disclose terms of the deal. The transaction comes less than a week after Covidien bought Reverse Medical Corp., a private company in Irvine, Calif., that makes endovascular devices.
Medtronic, the Minneapolis-based devicemaker that is taking over Covidien for almost $43 billion, has similarly been on a buying spree of small healthcare companies. It announced Wednesday a $350 million acquisition of NGC Medical, an Italian hospital services company. That deal came a day after Medtronic agreed to buy Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation, a Dutch producer of deep-brain stimulation technologies, for $200 million.
The deals between Medtronic and Covidien are part of the combined company's desire to expand its portfolio of medical devices and supplies and to become the partner of choice for hospitals. In a recent investor presentation, executives said the new conglomerate “can deliver a portfolio of products and services that is unmatched in today's market.” The merger is expected to close this year.
Covidien's latest target, Sapheon, focuses exclusively on vein conditions. Its main product is the VenaSeal Sapheon Closure System, which is used for patients who have varicose veins or other medical conditions in which leg veins cannot pump blood back to the heart. The device is approved in Europe, but it has not yet received approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
The company will fall into Covidien's and Medtronic's growing peripheral vascular device segment.
Follow Bob Herman on Twitter: @MHbherman
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