Johnson & Johnson unit Codman Neuro has picked up privately held Galway, Ireland-based stroke care company Neuravi for an undisclosed price, giving J&J an avenue into the quickly growing market for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke patients.
DePuy Ireland Unlimited, an affiliate of Codman, is the acquiring entity of record, the company said. Although details of the acquisition weren’t disclosed, the Irish Times reported that the Neuravi deal is the biggest payout for a venture-backed medtech company in Europe since the $700 million deal for CoreValve by Medtronic in 2009.
Neuravi, which was founded the same year as the CoreValve deal, developed the EmboTrap device that captures and removes clots from blood vessels and restores blood flow. The process of retrieving blood clots by device has become the industry standard versus using lipid drugs that were effective only with smaller clots. Ischemic stroke represent about 87% of all strokes, which affect an estimated 1 million people in Europe and about 700,000 in the U.S. each year.
"Rapid restoration of flow is of utmost importance when treating stroke patients," Shlomi Nachman, group chairman Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Cardiovascular & Specialty Solutions, said in a statement. "The EmboTrap platform was designed to address this critical need and we are excited to combine Neuravi's expertise in clot research with Codman Neuro's global resources to accelerate innovation in acute ischemic stroke treatment."
The EmboTrap and EmboTrap II Revascularization Devices are currently available in Europe and has been available in the U.S. for investigational use only under the ARISE II clinical trial, which will support a FDA submission expected for later this year, the company said.