Boston Scientific Acquires Securus Medical Group

Boston Scientific Corporation announced the acquisition of Securus Medical Group Inc., a privately-held company that has developed a thermal monitoring system for the continuous measurement of esophageal temperature. Boston Scientific has been an investor in Securus since 2016, and the transaction price for the remaining stake not already owned consists of $40 million in cash up-front, as well as up to $10 million in contingent payments based on regulatory achievements and commercial milestones.
 
Arrhythmias are commonly treated with cardiac ablation—the process of delivering radiofrequency (heating) or cryothermal (cooling) energy to destroy a small area of heart muscle responsible for the abnormal heart rhythm. Physicians monitor the temperature of the esophagus, which is located behind the area of the heart where the hot or cool energy is applied, during an ablation procedure to avoid thermal injury.
 
The thermal monitoring system developed by Securus Medical Group is an integrated catheter-based probe and imaging system that generates real-time images of the temperature of the esophagus.
 
“In contrast to current standards of care for esophageal temperature monitoring that measure temperature at one or a few fixed locations and have a slow temporal response, this system continuously reads the temperature of the esophagus from thousands of points and provides physicians with an intuitive 360 degree view that refreshes every second,” said Steven Girouard, Ph.D, president and chief executive officer, Securus Medical Group. “Further, the system does not require tissue contact for accurate temperature readings, allowing for simplified, one-time positioning of the probe.”
 
The latest generation infrared esophageal temperature monitoring system recently received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is expected to be integrated into the Boston Scientific portfolio and commercially available in the U.S. in the first half of 2019.
 
Boston Scientific offers a diverse set of electrophysiology products and services for the diagnosis and management of cardiac rhythm disorders. In October 2017, the company acquired Apama Medical Inc., adding a single-shot, multi-electrode catheter technology designed for pulmonary vein isolation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation to its product development portfolio. In addition, the company recently launched the INTELLANAV ST navigation-enabled, small-tip catheter for more precise ablations, further expanding the range of therapeutic catheter capabilities available to physicians.
 
“The acquisition of Securus further broadens our electrophysiology portfolio and fuels our mission to provide physicians with meaningful innovations that advance patient care,” said Joe Fitzgerald, president of Rhythm Management, Boston Scientific. “Additionally, we look forward to integrating this visual technology with our RHYTHMIA HDx Mapping System to provide a new level of comprehensive cardiac imaging during ablation procedures.”

Securus Medical Group is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with offices in Beverly, Mass.

The transaction is expected to be immaterial to Boston Scientific adjusted and GAAP earnings per share.