Boston Scientific Acquires Lumenis' Surgical Business for $1.07 Billion to Strengthen Urology Portfolio

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on March 3, 2020, global medical device giant Boston Scientific acquired Lumenis’s surgical laser business from private equity firm Baring Private Equity Asia for $1.07 billion.The transaction will integrate Lumenis’s ENT surgical business and laser lithotripsy systems, with Boston Scientific Corporation planning to combine these laser systems with its other urology devices.In this acquisition, Lumenis retained its aesthetic medicine and ophthalmology businesses.

Prior to this acquisition, Lumenis and Boston Scientific had collaborated for over two decades. Previously, Boston Scientific distributed Lumenis’ urology laser products in the United States and Japan. Following the acquisition, Boston Scientific plans to market Lumenis’ urology products globally, including in Europe and the high-growth Chinese market.

Boston Scientific’s primary interest lies in Lumenis’ Moses laser system, which targets large kidney stones through minimally invasive lithotripsy by using microscopic localization to identify the stones and fragment them with laser energy.

Meghan Scanlon, President of Urology and Pelvic Health at Boston Scientific Corporation, stated, “Lumenis’ Moses laser products, combined with Boston Scientific’s LithoVue single-use flexible digital ureteroscope and kidney stone treatment portfolio, will better enable us to execute our stone management business strategy.”From 2015 to 2019, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of Lumenis’ laser product portfolio reached double digits.”

Analysts predicted that in 2021, if Lumenis’s surgical business had returned to pre-pandemic levels, it would have contributed $200 million in revenue to Boston Scientific.

Urology involves diseases of the urinary system in both men and women (kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra). According to data from a Reportlinker report, the global urology equipment market is expected to grow from $38 billion in 2021 to $46.4 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1%. Key players in this market include medical device companies such as Fresenius, Baxter International, Boston Scientific, BD Medical, and Olympus.

Urology and pelvic floor health have long been a core business segment for Boston Scientific. In this field, the company offers solutions for stone management and male erectile dysfunction, facilitating accurate lithotripsy and stone removal. Its product portfolio includes certain ureteroscopes, devices for percutaneous nephrolithotomy, and therapies for male erectile dysfunction. Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, sales in this segment declined by 9% year-over-year in 2020, with revenue amounting to approximately $1.3 billion.

In the field of urology and pelvic floor health, Boston Scientific acquired the NxThera prostate therapy business in 2018, integrating it into its minimally invasive treatment portfolio for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Needham analyst Mike Matson speculated that the acquisition of Lumenis’ surgical business could signal an acceleration in Boston Scientific’s M&A pace this year, after the company had scaled back its M&A strategy in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic.

This $1 billion acquisition marks Boston Scientific’s second major M&A deal in 2021, 2In January 2021, Boston Scientific acquired cardiac monitoring company Preventice for $925 million.Enter the rapidly growing field of cardiac monitoring. Preventice Solutions is a manufacturer of various wearable cardiac sensors for remote patient monitoring.

Lumenis, acquired by Boston Scientific, is the world’s largest light-based and medical laser company, as well as a pioneer and leader in photonics technology. Lumenis was formed through the merger of two companies: Coherent Medical Group, originally established in 1966 in Silicon Valley, USA, and ESC Medical, a manufacturer of intense pulsed light systems, founded in 1991. In 2001, Coherent Medical Group merged with ESC Medical to establish a new light-based and medical laser company, which was renamed Lumenis. Its production facilities are located in the United States and Israel.

Lumenis’s business is divided into two major sectors: medical and aesthetic medicine. Its products span various medical fields, including aesthetics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, women’s health, and gastroenterology. The aesthetic medicine product portfolio includes solutions for hair removal, skin rejuvenation, pigmentation disorders, and scar reduction.

Regarding Lumenis, its most well-known business among Chinese consumers is its medical aesthetics division. In particular, three of its products have gained significant popularity in the Chinese market: the LightSheer Duet vacuum-assisted painless rapid hair removal system, the M22 Stellar OPT intense pulsed light (IPL) skin rejuvenation device, and the UltraPulse™ Encore™ super-pulsed CO2 fractional resurfacing laser.

Meanwhile, Lumenis has made significant inroads into the home-use beauty device market. As the parent company of TriPollar, a brand specializing in home-use radiofrequency beauty devices, Lumenis saw TriPollar’s sales surpass $100 million on the day of Li Jiaqi’s Double 11 pre-sale livestream in 2020.

In the medical sector, Lumenis’s most prominent field is ophthalmology. Within this domain, Lumenis is widely regarded as a pioneer in laser treatment for fundus diseases; in 1970, Lumenis Vision introduced the first laser photocoagulator to ophthalmology. Lumenis’s ophthalmic product portfolio also includes devices for treating glaucoma, cataracts, and various fundus disorders, as well as excimer lasers for myopia correction.

In otolaryngology, the Lumenis CO2 laser has transformed the way ENT surgeons perform procedures, enabling high-precision and often minimally invasive treatments for various head and neck regions.

Tzipi Ozer-Armon, CEO of Lumenis, stated, “This acquisition represents a tremendous vote of confidence in Lumenis and our global team. In recent years, we have developed and introduced multiple breakthrough technological solutions that have redefined our industry and opened up entirely new market segments. Boston Scientific’s robust global infrastructure will enhance the surgical team’s ability to continue innovating, while enabling these solutions to reach more patients worldwide. For Lumenis, this transaction will allow us to focus more intently on our aesthetic and vision care customers and increase investment in innovative solutions, as we seek to solidify our position and accelerate growth across various fields.”