Date: 2014-12-22
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: Topera (USA - CA)
Acquiring company: Abbott (USA - IL)
Amount: $250 million upfront, plus potential future payments tied to performance milestones
Terms: * On December 22, 2014, Abbott announced that it has completed its acquisition of Topera, a private, venture-backed medical device company focused on developing innovative electrophysiology technologies to improve the diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation. Catheter-based electrophysiology is an approximately $3 billion global market that has been growing annually at double-digit rates. * On October 29, 2014, Abbott announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Topera, a private, venture-backed medical device company focused on developing innovative electrophysiology technologies to improve the diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation. Through this acquisition, Abbott enters the catheter-based electrophysiology market, an approximately $3 billion global market that has been growing annually at double-digit rates. Topera, Inc. has developed a novel diagnostic catheter and mapping software, or rotor identification system, which help physicians identify and target the specific areas of a person’s heart that are perpetuating atrial fibrillation. Under the terms of the acquisition, Abbott will acquire all outstanding equity of Topera for $250 million upfront, plus potential future payments tied to performance milestones. In a separate transaction in the electrophysiology market, Abbott has secured the right to purchase Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, Inc. (ACT) in the future, upon completion of key milestones. ACT, a private, venture-backed company, is developing a novel ablation catheter designed to improve the safety and effectiveness of ablation procedures. Financial terms were not disclosed. Abbott’s electrophysiology business will be led by industry veteran Michael Pederson, who joins Abbott from VytronUS, Inc., a privately held medical device company, where he was president and chief executive officer.
Details: Topera has developed a novel diagnostic catheter and mapping software, or rotor identification system, which helps physicians identify and target patient-specific rotors that have been shown to be the sustaining mechanism for atrial fibrillation. The ability to locate these rotors enables the physician to individualize patient treatment through a procedure referred to as Focal Impulse and Rotor Mapping guided ablation, or FIRM-guided ablation. Topera’s rotor identification system has been shown, when used with existing catheter ablation therapy, to result in positive long-term success rates, even in difficult-to-treat cases. According to an independent, multi-center, physician-sponsored study, using Topera’s system with catheter ablation resulted in a single-procedure success rate of 87.5 percent in patients undergoing a first ablation procedure, and an 80.5 percent success rate for all patients after a one-year follow-up.This compares to only a 50 to 60 percent success rate for patients treated with existing catheter ablation therapy alone. During ablation procedures a catheter is placed in a specific area of the heart, where it uses energy to disrupt the abnormal electrical activity linked to atrial fibrillation. In addition to improving long-term outcomes with fewer procedures, using Topera’s rotor mapping system may result in shorter ablation times for some procedures because it identifies and targets the specific areas in an individual patient’s heart that are perpetuating the irregular heartbeats. The Topera rotor identification system transforms current catheter ablation approaches, which primarily rely on a one-size-fits-all anatomical approach, by providing a tailored treatment for each patient’s specific and unique physiology. Initially, the Topera System may supplement current procedures, but with more clinical evidence Topera’s patient-focused approach could become the primary procedure for patients with atrial fibrillation. The Topera System, which consists of the RhythmView™ workstation and the FIRMap™ diagnostic catheter, produces information that is designed to allow physicians to identify and locate rotors, the specific areas within the heart acting as a sustaining mechanism for atrial fibrillation. The technology allows physicians with special training in the electrical system of the heart, called electrophysiologists, to see individual patient-specific rotors, which leads to more accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Topera’s RhythmView workstation and FIRMap diagnostic catheter received FDA clearance and CE Mark in Europe in 2013.
Related: Medical devices Cardiovascular diseases
