AtriCure to Acquire SentreHEART for $300 Million to Enhance Atrial Fibrillation Treatment Portfolio

On August 13, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that medical device company AtriCure announced the acquisition of SentreHEART for $300 million. SentreHEART is a private developer of percutaneous left atrial appendage management solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, SentreHEART will receive an upfront payment of $40 million from AtriCure, as well as AtriCure stock. AtriCure also released its full-year guidance for 2019.

SentreHEART will also receive $140 million in milestone payments related to the aMAZE clinical trial, as well as $120 million in milestone payments tied to reimbursement for SentreHEART devices. The transaction is structured as a combination of cash and stock. AtriCure held a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on August 12, 2019, to discuss the transaction. Subject to customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to close within the next few days and does not require approval from AtriCure shareholders.

In this acquisition, Piper Jaffray & Co. served as AtriCure’s exclusive financial advisor, and Pepper Hamilton LLP served as AtriCure’s legal counsel. Guggenheim Securities LLC served as SentreHEART’s exclusive financial advisor, and Goodwin Procter LLP served as SentreHEART’s legal counsel.

SentreHEART was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California, USA. The company’s technology is currently being investigated in the aMAZE trial, a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial that has received FDA approval. The aMAZE trial aims to evaluate the Lariat suture delivery device for left atrial appendage (LAA) ligation, as well as the durability of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) catheter ablation therapy. The objective is to demonstrate that the combination of the Lariat suture delivery device and PVI catheter ablation offers superior safety compared to PVI catheter ablation alone.

The aMAZE trial will enroll 600 patients across 65 sites and conduct a one-year follow-up. To date, a total of 535 patients have been enrolled in the trial, with the remaining participants expected to be recruited by early 2020.

AtriCure was founded in 2000 by Mike Hooven and is headquartered in Ohio, USA. Mike Hooven is a mechanical engineer who previously worked in the Ethicon Endosurgery division of Johnson & Johnson. AtriCure provides advanced radiofrequency ablation, pacing, and sensing devices. Its first product following its official establishment, the bipolar ablation system, was launched in the US market in 2001 for soft tissue ablation. After more than a decade of development, AtriCure has built a robust product portfolio in tissue ablation.

AtriCure’s Isolator Synergy Ablation System is the first and only medical device approved by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation. Over the past decade, this product has provided surgical ablation therapy for atrial fibrillation to 200,000 patients worldwide. Currently, AtriCure is expanding into the pain management therapeutic area, and its AtriClip Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion System is the most widely used left atrial appendage management device globally.

As a leading provider of innovative technologies for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and related conditions, AtriCure delivers best-in-class solutions to electrophysiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons worldwide. AtriCure’s atrial fibrillation solutions comprise three core components: open surgical ablation, minimally invasive surgical ablation, and left atrial appendage management.

“We believe that the acquisition of SentreHEART is a strategic complement to AtriCure, offering a product designed for electrophysiologists that significantly expands our total addressable market,” said Michael Carrel, President and Chief Executive Officer of AtriCure. “As we advance the aMAZE trial, we are reinforcing our mission to provide our customers and their patients with comprehensive ablation and left atrial appendage management solutions.”

Mr. Carrel continued, “This transaction combines the strong resources of both companies, and we will jointly address challenges associated with atrial fibrillation (AFib). We believe that SentreHEART can complement our current product portfolio and intellectual property, fulfill our commitment to clinical science through the aMAZE trial, and leverage our growing commercial channels to enter the electrophysiology market. We believe that, following FDA approval, AtriCure’s competitive position in the market will be further strengthened.”

(Compiled by Cheng Tao)