Boston Scientific Buys EMBOL-X Technology

Boston Scientific Corp. (Natick, MA) and EMBOL-X Inc., a privately-held company based in Mountain View, CA, have reached a definitive agreement through which Boston Scientific will acquire from EMBOL-X assets and intellectual property pertaining to the field of percutaneous embolic protection devices for use in less invasive interventional procedures.

In addition to purchasing the technology, Boston Scientific will acquire a 10% equity interest in EMBOL- X. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Currently, EMBOL-X is marketing a surgical embolic protection system in Europe and conducting an IDE clinical trial in the United States. Both Boston Scientific and EMBOL-X believe that embolic protection can be applied to numerous areas of the anatomy. This transaction should allow for more rapid development and commercialization of both the percutaneous and surgical applications of the technology.

Boston Scientific will first focus on the use of percutaneous embolic protection devices in saphenous vein graft procedures, with indications for the carotid artery and renal arteries to follow. The goal of embolic protection is to substantially reduce acute complications caused by embolic material or "particles" travelling in the bloodstream during an interventional procedure. An embolic protection device acts as a safety net, catching dangerous material that can be dislodged during an intervention. The device is placed distal to (or nearby) the intervention site and is removed upon completion of the procedure.

"With certain interventions, the frequency and complication rates due to atherosclerotic embolization is disturbingly high," said Eric Topol, chairman, Department of Cardiology at The Cleveland Clinic. "Currently, we have few means for preventing these complications. The promise of a device designed to trap embolic material before it travels downstream is very exciting."

Edited by Ursula Jones