Medtronic today announced it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with CathWorks, a privately held company headquartered in Kefar Sava, Israel, which aims to transform how coronary artery disease (CAD) is diagnosed and treated.
A company press release details that, as part of the agreement, Medtronic will invest up to US$75 million and immediately begin co-promotion of CathWorks’ FFRangio system in the USA, Europe and Japan, where it is commercially available. As part of a separate agreement, Medtronic will have the option to acquire CathWorks once certain undisclosed milestones are met. CathWorks will also have the right to compel Medtronic to acquire the company if Medtronic chooses not to exercise its option. The acquisition option agreement will expire in July of 2027, with an estimated acquisition of up to US$585 million and potential undisclosed earn-out payments post-acquisition. Medtronic has held a minority investment in CathWorks since 2018.
“Data and AI [artificial intelligence]-enabled technologies have been shown to drive improved workflow and patient outcomes across the healthcare ecosystem. In cardiology specifically, these new advances in technology provide clinicians with the opportunity to gain additional information to improve and evolve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with CAD,” said Jason Weidman, senior vice president and president of the Coronary & Renal Denervation business, which is part of the Cardiovascular Portfolio at Medtronic. “We are excited to partner with CathWorks to offer the FFRangio system to our customers. We believe strongly in the potential of the technology and are committed to strengthening our relationship with CathWorks to provide new, innovative technologies and solutions from diagnosis to treatment.”
Medtronic claims that FFRangio has demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance compared to wire-based fractional flow reserve (FFR). The company references clinical data published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC): Cardiovascular Interventions, according to which FFRangio showed diagnostic accuracy of 93%, sensitivity of 91%, and specificity of 94%. This non-invasive technology has the potential to disrupt and expand traditional FFR segments, according to Medtronic.
“CathWorks has been looking for the right partner to help us expand the reach of the FFRangio system globally,” said Ramin Mousavi, president and chief executive officer of CathWorks. “Medtronic not only brings the strength of its commercial team to CathWorks, but a reputation of investing and defining new opportunities to revolutionise care. I am excited about the possibilities ahead as we partner with Medtronic to expand the use of our technology to the USA, Japan and Europe.”
