Boston Scientific has bought EMcision to expand its endoscopic portfolio. The takeover gives Boston Scientific ownership of an FDA-approved endoscopic device that ablates gastrointestinal tissue using radiofrequency waves.
EMcision developed the device, the Habib EndoHPB probe, to treat and improve the quality of life of patients with pancreaticobiliary cancers. Such cancers are associated with ingrowing tissue in the gastrointestinal tracts that blocks ducts. These blockages prevent bile from draining, leading to the development of jaundice and poorer quality of life for the patient.
The Habib EndoHPB probe is designed to treat this problem. Doctors can use the radiofrequency catheter to blast tumors in the bile duct and parts of the pancreas. Shrinking these tumors clears the way for the insertion of stents that allow the bile to drain.
EMcision received FDA approval for Habib EndoHPB in 2009, four years after the agency signed off an earlier version of its radiofrequency technology, Habib 4X. The British-Canadian device company won approvals for other products with similar mechanisms of action either side of getting the green light to sell Habib EndoHPB. But the pancreaticobiliary device is the prize for Boston Scientific.
The major device manufacturer is paying an undisclosed sum to acquire the product and the rest of EMcision’s portfolio. The takeover is too small in size to have a material effect on Boston Scientific’s earnings this year.
Boston Scientific expects the deal to be accretive once it gets up to speed with marketing EMcision’s device alongside the rest of its endoscopy portfolio, which includes a stent that allows bile and other fluids to drain.