Guidant to buy firm, gain vital catheter

Guidant Corp. said it will buy X Technologies Inc., a small catheter maker with offices in Israel and California. The Indianapolis medical device maker said it's chiefly interested in a new "cutting balloon" catheter developed by X Technologies to remove heart artery blockages. The deal hinges on marketing approval being given to the new catheter by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Approval is anticipated in the third quarter, said Guidant spokesman Steve Tragash. The catheter has been approved for sale in Europe. Guidant doesn't have its own "cutting balloon" catheter, Tragash said. The catheter device, called the FX miniRAIL, is threaded through arteries to remove blockages of the type that new drug-coated heart stents aim to prevent. Guidant is two years behind two competitors in bringing a drug-coated stent to the U.S. market. But Guidant's interest in the new catheter is "independent of drug-eluting stents," the company said in a statement. "The (catheter) product will stand on its own." Dana G. Mead Jr., president of vascular intervention for Guidant, said the new catheter complements Guidant's existing catheter line. "We have been pleased with feedback on the value of this device from international clinicians and physicians," Mead said in a statement. Terms of the acquisition of the privately owned company weren't disclosed. Founded in 1999, X Technologies employs 24 people, according to Globes financial daily of Israel.