St. Jude Medical to Acquire Savacor

St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, MN, USA) has agreed to acquire Savacor, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA, USA), for U.S.$50 million, in a move to strengthen the company's cardiac-rhythm management business.

Savacor has heart failure diagnostic and therapy guidance products and technologies under development and in clinical evaluation. The company currently has developed a small implantable heart-failure sensor device, called HeartPOD, consisting of a small implantable sensor system and a modified handheld computer that serves as a patient monitor and advisory module.
The sensor system is implanted into the patien's left atrial chamber by a catheterization procedure or, alternatively, at the time of open-heart valve or bypass surgery. The sensor system measures left atrial pressure, body temperature, and also serves as an electro-cardiogram. The device is undergoing clinical trials both in the United States and internationally.

Increased pressure in the left atrium is a predictor of pulmonary congestion, which is the leading cause of hospitalization for congestive heart failure (CHF), a disorder in which heart damage progressively weakens the cardiovascular system.

"The Savacor technology has exciting potential and will complement the development efforts already underway at St. Jude Medical in managing the co-morbidities of heart failure patients,” said Michael J. Coyle, president of St. Jude Medical's cardiac rhythm management business.

St. Jude Medical is a $2.3 billion global cardiovascular device company that sells products in more than 130 countries and has over 20 operations and manufacturing facilities worldwide.




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