Medtronic acquires gastric electrical stimulator manufacturer
Transneuronix
20 August 2005
Minneapolis, USA. Medtronic has completed the acuisition of
Transneuronix, Inc., a privately held medical device company focused on
therapies designed to treat obesity by electrical stimulation of the
stomach.
The acquisition follows Medtronic’s recent announcement regarding the
formation of a new business unit, Medtronic Obesity Management.
Transneuronix has been conducting research using gastric electrical
stimulation for the treatment of obesity for more than eight years in the
United States and Europe utilizing an implantable pacemaker-like device that
delivers electrical pulses to the stomach.
"The acquisition of Transneuronix plays a key part in our strategy to
deliver therapeutic solutions for the worldwide challenges of obesity," said
Bill Hawkins, Medtronic president and chief operating officer. "Because
obesity is linked to so many associated health problems, there is a great
sense of urgency to find successful long-term treatment options for these
patients."
"Medtronic has invested in Transneuronix, and we know the technology very
well," said Gary Lubben, vice president and general manager of Medtronic
Obesity Management. "Through Transneuronix's clinical trial and European
market experience, we are confident that we can grow this business and help
patients and physicians address a very troubling disease." Medtronic has
been a supplier of the company's implantable stimulation devices and
programmers.
Under the agreement, Medtronic will acquire Transneuronix for an initial
payment of approximately $260 million and will make additional payments to
Transneuronix shareholders if significant revenue objectives are achieved.
Transneuronix has been conducting research using gastric electrical
stimulation for the treatment of obesity for more than eight years in the
United States and Europe. Since the first implant in 1995, more than 700
patients have been implanted with Transcend, the company's Implantable
Gastric Stimulator (IGS). More than 300 patients have been enrolled in
Transneuronix-sponsored trials that have demonstrated meaningful reductions
in excess weight with a good safety profile. Most current therapies designed
to treat obesity involve highly invasive surgical procedures with
significant early and late complications. The Transcend system has been
commercially available in Europe for more than three years, and
Transneuronix recently received regulatory approval to begin marketing the
Transcend system in Canada.
In the United States, Transneuronix has completed enrollment in its U.S.
pivotal trial. The U.S. trial is a multi-center, blinded, randomized control
study designed to demonstrate weight loss in comparison to a control group.
"Transneuronix has made great strides in the development of gastric
electrical stimulation over the last five years through product
enhancements, clinical trials and advances in patient identification and
selection," said Dr. Louis J. Aronne, Clinical Professor of Medicine at
Weill Cornell Medical College, Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of
Medicine at Columbia University, Director of the Comprehensive Weight
Control Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and President of the
North American Association for the Study of Obesity.
"We look forward to the clinical results of the U.S. trial this fall and
hope this therapy becomes available to patients in the United States in the
near future," added Dr. Aronne. New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia
University Medical Center is one of eight sites in the United States
participating in the trial.
Obese people have an increased risk of developing other serious medical
problems such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and
cancer. The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases
estimates that patients with a high Body Mass Index (BMI) cost the U.S.
healthcare system more than $60 billion a year in direct medical costs.
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