St. Jude Medical Completes Acquisition of Spinal Modulation

Global medical device company St. Jude Medical (SJM; St. Paul, MN, USA) has completed the acquisition of Spinal Modulation (Menlo Park, CA, USA), developer of the Axium neurostimulator system.

SJM exercised the company’s exclusive option to acquire Spinal Modulation, and will make the payment of approximately USD 175 million upon closing, with additional payments due upon US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Axium system, and achievement of certain revenue targets. Following completion, SJM will become the only medical device manufacturer to offer radiofrequency ablation (RFA), spinal cord stimulation (SCS), and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation therapy solutions for the treatment of chronic pain.

The acquisition by SJM followed a series of agreements under which the company first made a USD 40 million equity investment in Spinal Modulation in June 2013. The equity investment provided SJM with an exclusive option to distribute the Axium Neurostimulator System in international markets where the technology was already been approved for sale, and also provided the company with the exclusive option to acquire the company.

“Physicians need a range of options to effectively treat chronic pain, and our acquisition of Spinal Modulation is part of our ongoing commitment to providing physicians new and innovative therapy options,” said Michael T. Rousseau, COO of SJM. “Dorsal root ganglion stimulation with the Axium system is highly complementary to our current chronic pain product portfolio, and acquiring this technology will further our ability to partner with physicians to reduce the burden of chronic pain.”

“St. Jude Medical has a legacy of bringing new, innovative therapy options to patients suffering from chronic pain, and we believe adding DRG stimulation to their chronic pain portfolio will have a number of benefits to patients worldwide,” said David Wood, president and CEO of Spinal Modulation. “We’re proud of what the Spinal Modulation team has built over the past 10 years, and see great potential for St. Jude Medical to continue expanding access to DRG stimulation therapy for patients who may benefit from additional therapeutic options.”

The Axium Neurostimulator System delivers a form of SCS that stimulate the DRG, addressing chronic pain conditions that are apparently currently underserved by traditional SCS technologies and techniques, and providing more targeted therapy to patients who have lower extremity pain or very specific areas of pain that are known to be difficult to treat with traditional neurostimulation systems. The system claims to use approximately 95% less power than traditional SCS therapy.

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