Medtronic announced Tuesday that it will acquire a heart-valve device startup for $458 million, expanding its offering of cardiovascular devices.
The Dublin-based medical-device manufacturer is buying Twelve, a Redwood City, Calif.-based developer of transcatheter mitral valve replacement devices. The device, which is still in development, features a unique dual-stent design that helps treat mitral regurgitation, a disorder in which the heart's mitral valve fails to close normally, allowing blood to flow backward when the heart contracts.
Twelve is the 12th company to be spun out of the Foundry, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based incubator for medical-device startups. Medtronics will pay $408 million for the company at closing and $50 million once the device achieves European Conformity certification, commonly known as a CE marking.
Medtronics will add Twelve to its Coronary & Structural Heart division within its Cardiac and Vascular Group. The cash deal is still subject to closing conditions, and is expected to close in October.
In July, Medtronic acquired Carlsbad, Calif.-based medical-device maker RF Surgical Systems for $235 million. CEO Omar Ishrak told investors earlier this year that the company is looking for new acquisition targets in China and developing countries in Asia.
Medical-device makers, facing reimbursement and sales pressure in the U.S., are looking to China for opportunities as globalization becomes a key part of their strategy. China's growing middle class and aging population makes it an attractive market for the healthcare industry.
