Merit Medical Inks Deal for Ostial Solutions

Merit Medical Systems Inc. has acquired the assets of Ostial Solutions LLC, a privately held company based in Kalamazoo, Mich.

According to Merit, under terms of the acquisition, it is required to pay about 33 percent of the anticipated purchase price at closing, approximately 22 percent of the anticipated purchase price within six months of closing and the balance to be paid only upon achievement of negotiated earn-out objectives.

Complete terms of the deal, however, were not disclosed.

The primary asset of Ostial Solutions is its patented Ostial Pro Stent Positioning System, which facilitates precise stent implantation in coronary and renal aorto-ostial lesions, eliminating guesswork when deploying a stent at the “true” ostium of the vessel, according to a press release issue by both companies.

Ostial Solutions was founded in 2003 by R. Kevin Plemmons and Dr. Tim A. Fischell, Dr. David R. Fischell and Dr. Robert E. Fischell for the sole purpose of manufacturing and marketing a medical-grade catheter that is used to facilitate precise stent implantation in coronary and peripheral arteries.

Family patriarch Robert Fischell and his sons Tim and David have launched more than 16 private companies that licensed their patents on medical devices. These companies include Pacesetter Systems Inc. (now called St. Jude Medical); IsoStent Inc.; NeuroPace Inc.; eNeura Therapeutics Inc.; Ablative Solutions Inc.; MagneMark LLC; Guardian Helmets LLC.; Ostial Solutions LLC; GlucoTec Inc.; Angel Medical Systems Inc.; and Svelte Medical Systems Inc.

The Ostial Pro Stent Positioning System received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Merit has commenced shipments of the product from its facilities.

“We believe this is the right product at the right time to complement many of Merit’s existing products, as well as anticipated future products, such as the Concierge guiding catheter, which Merit plans to introduce later this year,” said Fred P. Lampropoulos, Merit’s chairman and CEO. “We believe this tool will help both patients and physicians, by improving the accuracy of stent placement, thereby reducing the potential cost and risk of additional stents, contrast media and X-ray exposure.”

Ostial Solutions was funded by a diverse group of angel investors.

“The sale of Ostial Solutions to Merit allows our investors to realize the return on their investments,” said R. Kevin Plemmons, CEO and president of Ostial Solutions. “With Ostial Solutions, our investors have helped launch and grow a medical-device company that has now grown to a point at which it is attractive enough to be acquired by a larger company who can capitalize on the opportunity to scale Ostial Solutions’ product in the marketplace. That means that all Ostial Solutions’ investors on this project are going to realize a return on their original investment. They will also have the satisfaction of seeing a company move on to the next level, which is an added benefit of angel investing.”

Founded in 1987 and based in South Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical Systems Inc. manufactures and distributes disposable medical devices used in interventional and diagnostic procedures, particularly in cardiology, radiology and endoscopy. The company employs 2,400 at facilities in Utah; Rockland, Mass.; Angleton, Texas; Richmond, Va.; Maastricht and Venlo, the Netherlands; Paris, France; Galway, Ireland; Beijing, China; and Copenhagen, Denmark.