Medtronic plc has announced its intent to exercise an option to acquire CathWorks, a privately held medical device company focused on advancing the diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD).
The move aligns with Medtronic’s strategy to expand its cardiovascular pipeline through targeted acquisitions and strategic investments.
The proposed acquisition follows a 2022 strategic partnership between the two companies, which included a co-promotion agreement for the CathWorks FFRangio® System across the United States, Europe and Japan, where the technology is commercially available. The transaction is valued at up to $585 million, with the potential for additional undisclosed earn-out payments following completion.
The acquisition is expected to bolster Medtronic’s interventional cardiology portfolio within its Cardiovascular business, supporting its focus on transforming how cardiovascular disease is diagnosed and treated. CathWorks’ technology is designed to address limitations associated with traditional wire-based fractional flow reserve (FFR), which, despite strong clinical evidence demonstrating improved patient outcomes and economic benefits, remains underutilised due to its invasive nature and procedural complexity.
Traditional wire-based FFR requires pressure wires, pharmacologic hyperaemia and measurements at limited locations within the coronary vessel. In contrast, the FFRangio System uses artificial intelligence and advanced computational science to provide a comprehensive physiological assessment of the entire coronary tree directly from routine coronary angiograms. Clinical studies have demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy and promising clinical outcomes when compared with wire-based FFR.
At the date of closing, CathWorks will become part of Medtronic, while both companies will continue to operate independently until the transaction is completed. The deal is subject to clearance from the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other customary regulatory approvals, with completion expected by the end of Medtronic’s fiscal year 2026.
From a financial perspective, the acquisition is expected to be immaterial to Medtronic’s fiscal year 2027 GAAP and adjusted earnings per share, and neutral to accretive thereafter.
The CathWorks FFRangio® System is currently the only angiography-derived system that delivers FFR values along the entire coronary tree. In addition to physiological assessment, it offers intraprocedural optimisation tools, including evaluation of the physiological impact of lesion treatment and interactive sizing tools to measure lesion dimensions, supporting more precise and patient-centred treatment decisions in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory.
