Teleflex grabs Israel startup with next-gen microlaparoscopy tech

Medical device maker Teleflex ($TFX) is snatching up a promising Israeli startup focused on minimally invasive microlaparoscopy surgical technology.

Teleflex said it sees its purchase of the four-year-old Eon Surgical as a way to boost adoption of microlaparoscopy procedures, which aren't widespread yet because there aren't that many devices on the market to enable the approach.

Reinforcing this point, Teleflex chairman, president and CEO Benson Smith added in a statement that the deal will be a good growth engine for his company and "will greatly expand Teleflex's offerings that address the significant market opportunity for minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures."

Neither side is giving up any details of Teleflex's acquisition of Eon Surgical. But with the sale, Israel continues to build its reputation as a developer of medical device, med tech and biotech startups that catch the eye of larger multinational companies.

Eon launched four years ago and joined Israel's RAD BioMed startup accelerator program in 2010. Its focus: development of surgical tools to enable scarless, next-generation laparoscopic surgeries. And Teleflex termed Eon a "late stage development" company, which means its products are close to approval.

Teleflex is also expanding in other areas. Last July the company snatched up California catheter firm Hotspur Technologies for $15 million, which already had three 510(k) and CE marketed catheters designed to boost the efficiency of treatments for blocked blood vessels. It recently snagged a CE mark for its GPS Gath balloon catheter, another product acquired as part of that acquisition.

Teleflex's latest acquisition continues a trend that became pretty robust in 2012, when the company pursued a number of M&A deals to acquire new products and technology.

- read the release