Sorin Group is paying $20 million for a Florida manufacturer's cardiac-lead business, as well as its plans for new MRI-compatible cardiac leads.
It's a small investment for major gain down the line. Tampa, FL-based Oscor has both end-use customers and medical device company clients for its lead business. Sorin said it already has some MRI compatible bradycardia leads produced by Oscor, and that the deal will allow it to generate more revenue from Oscor's existing lead business and consolidate its MRI lead development under one corporate roof. The leads would go with products such as implantable pacemakers and defibrillators.
Oscor said it is divesting its lead division to focus more on catheters and custom lead development on a contract-manufacturing basis.
Sorin is eying the future with this acquisition, and it is clearly one with MRI-compatible products. Industry leader Medtronic ($MDT) has its SureScan MRI-safe pacemakers, and won a CE mark last May for a lead designed for use in an MRI situation when paired with one of its MRI-safe pacemakers. Boston Scientific ($BSX) and Germany's Biotronik are working hard to bring their own MRI-safe pacers and defibrillators to market, with initial CE marks already in place.
In other words, MRI-safe implants are the future. With that in mind, consider that Sorin, in snatching up Oscor, is also gaining access to "design files and development resources" meant to be the basis of MRI-compatible tachycardia and left ventricular leads, plus a lead manufacturing facility in the Dominican Republic. Sorin said the deal will allow for more cooperative development with Oscor of both bradycardia and tachycardia leads to accommodate MRI-safe requirements.
"This acquisition is a tremendous opportunity for Sorin Group," Stefano Di Lullo, the company's president of its CRM businesss unit, said in a statement. "Oscor-branded and OEM leads provide us with first-class products which will complement our existing lead portfolio and offer us new opportunities to better respond to our customers' future needs for MRI-compatible systems."
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