Lombard purchases endograft developer Altura

Lombard Medical Technologies (NSDQ:EVAR) said today it acquired endovascular stent graft developer Altura Medical.

Altura develops ultra-low profile endovascular stent graft technology intended for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms, in line with Lombard’s own technologies and their flagship Aorfix endograft.

The terms of the transaction between Irvine, Calif.-based Lombard and Silicon Valley-based Altura medical included the issuance of $15 million of Lombard stock at $4 per share, the assumption of $5.5 million in debt and $2.5 million in liabilities and transaction related costs, Lombard said.

“The acquisition of Altura and the launch of its new AAA stent graft will provide a near-term and substantial increase in revenues. In fact, we believe this innovative technology could account for up to 20% of our 2016 total revenue. The combination of Altura’s technology with our flagship Aorfix platform creates a truly patient driven platform that we believe will allow us to capture share from our competitors. The Altura device offers a simple, safe and efficient treatment option for standard AAA anatomy, while Aorfix offers the only on-label solution for patients with Aortic neck angulation up to 90 degrees,” CEO Simon Hubbert said in a prepared statement.

Another $27.5 million may be paid for the deal, based on commercial and regulatory milestones reached over the next 5 years, payable in either cash or stock, Lombard said.

“The Altura device offers a new ultra-low profile stent graft system without compromising the robustness and durability of the wire and graft fabric. The added benefits of this smart system are the ability to reposition during deployment and place each graft accurately to each renal artery enabling physicians to utilize all the available aortic neck. It also removes the need for cannulation and therefore provides a simple, intuitive, safe and consistent deployment system with predictable and shorter procedure times,” Dr. Dierk Scheinert of Leipzig, Germany’s University Hospital said in a press release.

Altura’s endograft system won CE Mark approval in the European Union this year and Lombard said it plans to initially launch the device in Europe early next year with a larger roll-out later in 2016. Lombard  plans to file for investigational device exemption from the FDA in 2016 and will begin recruitment for a clinical study the same year.

“Many patients who present for AAA repair can be treated quickly and efficiently with minimal hospital stay and recovery times. The introduction of an easy-to-deploy AAA stent graft that offers enhanced safety and accuracy on an ultra-low profile delivery system will allow physicians to treat a large percentage of AAA patients more efficiently in the future,” vascular surgeon Dr. Stuart Harlin of Pensacola, Fl.’s Coastal Vascular & Interventional said in prepared remarks.

Earlier this week, CEO Hubbert said the company was looking to grow out of being a 1-product company either via acquisition or a distribution deal with a larger medical device company.

Discussing Lombard’s 2nd-quarter results July 27, Hubbert referenced the $110 million buyout of Aptus Endosystems by Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last month, observing that the crowded and competitive abdominal aortic aneurysm repair market is driving consolidation.

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