Teleflex to Acquire Axiom Technology Partners

Limerick, Pa.-based critical care and surgery device provider Teleflex Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Axiom Technology Partners LLC. Axiom manufactures the EFx family of laparoscopic fascial closure systems products and is a portfolio company of Option 3 LLC, a privately held medical device incubator focused on the minimally invasive surgery and endovascular markets. The current total global closure market for endoscopic fascial closure products is estimated to be approximately $200 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Telefex will purchase all of Axiom’s assets, and the deal is expected to close by the end of May. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The EFx line of products includes devices that have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as pipeline products designed for the closure of abdominal trocar defects through which access ports and instruments were used during laparoscopic surgeries.

The EFx portfolio can be used in all surgical laparoscopic port sites that are 10 millimeters or larger. There are approximately 5 million laparoscopic procedures performed globally each year, with approximately half of those conducted in the United States. Laparoscopic procedures performed with 10 millimeter endoscopes or larger account for approximately 70% of all procedures. Because post-surgical herniation is a common complication in patients at sites in which larger instruments were inserted during surgery, published guidelines recommend that all midline umbilical port sites and port sites greater than 10 millimeters be closed to avoid herniation.

With the acquisition of Axiom, Teleflex will gain access to new surgical procedure markets such as bariatric surgery, bowel resection, hernia and hysterectomy. The company already has a strong presence in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) and robotic prostatectomy.

The FDA granted EFx 510(k) clearance in December 2010 for standard and bariatric length devices. The product will be marketed as the Weck EFx Endo Fascial Closure System and is being prepared for CE Mark review in Europe and Canada for these indications. More than 750 clinical cases have been performed with the device in the U.S.

“With this acquisition,” said Jay White, Teleflex Surgical vice president and general manager, “we will enhance our focus in OB/GYN and other advanced laparoscopic procedures while strengthening our existing access portfolio where we have several new products planned to launch in the next few months. The EFx system’s unique value proposition will allow us to drive adoption in the fascial closure market which is currently less than 25 percent penetrated.”