Global healthcare company Abbott Laboratories has agreed to acquire privately held medical-device maker Topera in a deal worth $250 million.
The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, also includes potential milestone payments, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Topera has developed a novel diagnostic catheter and mapping software, or rotor-identification system, used to diagnose and treat atrial fibrillation, a heart-rhythm disorder. The technology helps physicians identify and target specific areas of a person's heart that are sustaining the heart-rhythm disorder.
Abbott also said it has secured the right to acquire Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, which is developing an ablation catheter that aims to improve the safety and effectiveness of ablation procedures, in a separate transaction.
"There is significant room to use advanced rotor-identification technologies to improve the success rate and reduce the need for multiple ablation procedures, and thus improve the health of people with atrial fibrillation," said John M. Capek, executive vice-president of Abbott's medical devices business. "The Topera acquisition and our agreement with [Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics] provide a foundational entry into the large, high-growth electrophysiology market."
Abbott recently reported that its sales rose 5.8% in the September quarter, driven by gains in its nutrition, diagnostics and established pharmaceuticals businesses.
