Edwards Acquires Jomed's Valve Repair Program

(Beringen, Switzerland) for about US$ 20 million. The acquisition includes all technology and intellectual property associated with the program.

For a large population in which valvular disease is not sufficiently advanced to warrant open-heart surgery, percutaneous mitral valve repair may be appropriate. There are two approaches to this kind of valve repair. One is by direct valve access through a catheter to deploy repair techniques on the valve's interior components. The second is to access the coronary sinus, a cavity that surrounds the exterior of the mitral valve, through a catheter to deploy devices designed to constrict or reshape the misshapen valve. The Jomed acquisition will enable Edwards to develop the coronary sinus approach. The company will also continue to pursue both approaches, since they are complementary.

"We consider percutaneous mitral valve repair to be one of the most important opportunities in the field of heart valve therapy in the next five years,” said Michael A. Mussallem, chairman and CEO of Edwards.





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