BTG Acquires Interventional Pulmonology Innovator PneumRx

International specialist healthcare company BTG (London, United Kingdom) has signed an agreement to acquire PneumRx (Mountain View, CA, USA).

PneumRx's flagship product, the RePneu Lung Volume Reduction Coil (LVRC), is slated to become the cornerstone of BTG's growing interventional pulmonology business. The LVRC, a minimally invasive device made of nitinol, is intended to improve exercise capacity, lung function, and quality of life for patients with severe emphysema by compressing diseased tissue, increasing elastic recoil in the lung, and re-tensioning the diseased airway network, thus relieving breathlessness and allowing patients to perform more activities of daily living.

The acquisition of PneumRx will complement BTG’s interventional medicine platform, expanding it into interventional pulmonology, a developing medical discipline. The merger will also help bring additional resources forth to achieve US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) market approval for the RePneu Coil, as well as develop other key markets worldwide. Financial details of the purchase include a debt free, cash free basis for an initial cash consideration of USD 230 million, and up to USD 245 million in performance-related future milestone payments.

“PneumRx brings a differentiated, clinically proven product that can make a real difference to the lives of people with advanced emphysema, for which there are limited current treatment options,” said Louise Makin, CEO of BTG. “It also gives us access to a third potentially high-growth area of interventional medicine, interventional pulmonology. With an annual sales potential of over USD 250 million, PneumRx is a significant addition to BTG that enhances our portfolio and leadership in interventional medicine.”

“Our business will continue to operate intact, but we will benefit immediately from the support of an experienced and successful BTG framework,” said Erin McGurk, founder, president, and CEO of PneumRx. “The future is bright for PneumRx moving forward as a BTG company, as we work together with dedicated physicians around the world who are using the Coils to bring hope to the millions of emphysema patients who have had so few treatment options to date.”

Emphysema is a progressive disease in which the natural architecture of the lungs is damaged and lung function is degraded. There are more than 10 million people in the US and Europe with emphysema, and there is a significant economic burden placed on healthcare systems relating to both inpatient and outpatient care costs. There is no cure, with the current standard of care seeking to relieve symptoms through drug therapy and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Related Links:
BTG
PneumRx
Link to Hospimedica article: RePneu Coil