$35m is to be paid upfront, with a further $40m depending on future milestones.
Apica Cardiovascular, an Ireland-based medical device company, has been acquired by US-based medical device company Thoratec. The deal is worth a total $75m, with Thoratec paying $35m upfront and $40m once future clinical and sales milestones have been met.
Both companies focus on patients with heart failure. Apica’s technology allows surgeons to open and close the apex of a beating heart, to deliver therapeutic devices into the inner chambers of the heart in a minimally invasive manner.
The spin-out, created in 2009, is based on research at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. Its target market for heart pumps is currently worth $1bn, and growing fast.
The company’s relocation to Ireland followed its series A in 2010, led by Ireland-based Seroba Kernel Life Science. The round was supported by Enterprise Ireland, allowing Apica to move to the Innovation Centre at National University Ireland, Galway and develop its product range. As part of the acquisition deal, all Apica staff will retain their position at the Innovation Centre, and it is expected that the team in Galway will expand.
Daniel O’Mahony, partner at Seroba Kernel, said: “We are delighted with the successful outcome of the investment in Apica. It validates our model of taking leading-edge technologies from the US, where there is a shortage of finance, and implanting them in Ireland whilst retaining links to the US innovators and clinicians. It also reinforces Galway’s position as a world-class hub for medtech development.”
