Medtronic acquires heart valve startup Ventor Technologies for $325 million February 24, 2009
Posted by israelhealthcare in Cardiology.Tags: cardiologists, Cardiology, surgeons
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American medical technology firm Medtronic has acquired Israeli startup Ventor Technologies, a developer of transcatheter heart valve technologies for the treatment of aortic valve disease, for $325 million.
Ventor developed a unique aortic valve prosthesis which can be implanted “off pump”, on a beating heart. Ventor’s unique valve design allows for easy implantation, enhanced prosthesis anchoring and superior hemodynamic performance.
Current standard of care for patients with aortic stenosis is open-heart valve surgery, however, many patients are ineligible for surgery because of their deteriorating health. Transcatheter valves offer a non-surgical alternative for patients who need their valve replaced but may not be good surgical candidates.
This deal will add two technologies to Medtronic’s transcatheter valve portfolio: a minimally invasive, surgical transapical technology and a next generation percutaneous, transfemoral technology. These complementary technologies offer compelling clinical benefit to distinctly different subsets of patients with aortic stenosis who are at high or prohibitive risk for surgery.
“The combination of Ventor Technologies and our strengths in research and development, operations, medical education and market development will improve patient outcomes and expand physician adoption among both surgeons and interventional cardiologists,” said Bill Hawkins, chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
Ventor was founded in 2004 by Dr. Ehud Shvemental of Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer, Rafi Benary, and Dr. Shimon Eckhouse, the co-founder of Syneron Medical. Guy Ezekiel is the current president and CEO of Ventor Technologies.
Medtronic is the global leader in medical technology with six major businesses focusing around a condition or therapy type: Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management, Spinal and Biologics, CardioVascular, Neuromodulation, Diabetes, and Surgical Technologies.
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Where in the world is this technology being implemented. Has this procedure been vetted? I understand that Jackson Memorial in Miam FL is at present investigtating its application.
My wife, Blanche, has stnosisi of the aortic valve and cannot undergo invasive operation. Is this the answer??
My heart doctor is keeping an eye on the progess at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami , FL
I want to know the possibility of having the procedure done elsewhere than in the U.S.
Being in our early 80s, you can understand our eagerness to find the possibility of the procedure, whreever it is being practised. I look forward to your erliest reponse.