Kalamazoo Medical Device Firm Sells To Utah Company
KALAMAZOO -- Ostial Solutions LLC, a privately held medical device company, Thursday announced that it has sold "substantially all" of its assets to Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MMSI). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Kalamazoo, Ostial Solutions developed the Ostial Pro Stent Positioning System to facilitate precise stent implantation in coronary and renal aorto-ostial lesions, eliminating the guesswork when deploying a stent at the "true" ostium of the vessel.
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 Dr. Robert Fischell and his sons Dr. Tim Fischell and Dr. David Fischell have launched over 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 three Fischells are prolific inventors with over 300 issued U.S. and foreign patents, many of which have been the basis for new medical device companies.
The Ostial Pro Stent Positioning System has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Merit has commenced shipments of the product from Merit's facilities. The product has a hospital price of approximately $800, with margins above Merit's corporate average.
"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."
Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP served as legal advisor to Ostial Solutions, for the transaction.
Founded in 1987, Merit Medical Systems, Inc. is engaged in the development, manufacture and distribution of proprietary disposable medical devices used in interventional and diagnostic procedures, particularly in cardiology, radiology and endoscopy. Merit serves client hospitals worldwide with a domestic and international sales force totaling approximately 130 individuals. Merit employs approximately 2,400 people worldwide with facilities in Salt Lake City and South Jordan, Utah; Angleton, Texas; Richmond, Va.; Maastricht and Venlo, The Netherlands; Paris, France; Galway, Ireland; Beijing, China; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Rockland, Mass.
