Abbott bags rights to Surmodics’ device, setting up showdown with Medtronic

Abbott has secured the global rights to Surmodics’ drug-coated balloon (DCB). The company is paying $25 million upfront and committing to up to $67 million in development milestones to add the device to its vascular disease pipeline.

The outlay gives Abbott worldwide commercialization rights to Surmodics’ SurVeil DCB. Surmodics’ designed the device to get more drug to the target tissue than existing PCBs. In doing so, Surmodics thinks it can trigger more durable, evenly distributed effects while cutting incidence of downstream drug particles.

Surmodics is currently testing whether the device lives up that billing in a pivotal U.S. trial. The trial is enrolling 446 patients with peripheral artery disease in the upper leg and randomizing them to receive either SurVeil or Medtronic’s IN.PACT Admiral DCB. Surmodics will compare the effects of the devices on primary lesion patency and a composite safety endpoint after 12 months.

Having bought into the program, Abbott will work with Surmodics to get it developed and approved in the U.S. and Europe. If the device comes to market, Surmodics will handle manufacturing and get paid based on initial product sales to Abbott. Surmodics will also get a cut of third-party sale profits.

For Abbott, the device represents a chance to muscle in on an area that has been a solid driver of growth for Medtronic’s aortic and peripheral vascular division since the FDA approved IN.PACT Admiral. 

“This agreement enhances our fast-growing endovascular portfolio, and we look forward to offering this solution to physicians to give them more and better options to help their patients live their fullest lives,” Chuck Brynelsen, SVP of Abbott's vascular business, said in a statement.

Shares in Surmodics rose 10% following news of the deal.