Healthcare Technology Featured Article

September 10, 2010

Healthcare Technology and News: St. Jude Medical Agrees to Invest $60 Million in CardioMEMS


St. Jude Medical has entered into an agreement with Arcapita, to purchase 19 percent of their share in CardioMEMS for $60 million. Further, there will be an option for St. Jude to purchase the remaining 71 percent holding for $375 million, in the near future. Arcapita is a global investment bank, and CardioMEMS is part of its Venture Capital portfolio. Arcapita acts as the lead investor in companies operating in the healthcare, information technology, and industrial technology sectors.

In a release, Global Head of Venture Capital of Arcapita, Mr. John Huntz, said, "CardioMEMS has been one of the best performers in our portfolio, and we are extremely pleased that our participation over the past four years has helped shape the company into one of the leading providers of innovative remote medical management technology. This transaction not only represents a successful event for our investors, it is also an opportunity for CardioMEMS to potentially expand its efforts in cardiac management under the expert ownership of St. Jude Medical."

St. Jude Medical is a medical device company with a global presence. It develops medical technology that offers better control to treat cardiac, neurological and chronic pain in patients. It encourages advancing the practise of medicine, while reducing risk wherever possible. It has four major focus areas: cardiac rhythm management, artial fibrillation, cardiovascular, and neuromodulation.

CardioMEMS, a medical device company, constantly aims to improve the management of severe chronic cardiovascular diseases such as heart failures, hypertension, and aneurysms. It has developed and commercialized a proprietary wireless sensing and communication technology, the EndoSure Wireless Pressure Measurement System, for the human body. Better known as EndoSure, it consists of two components: a miniature wireless implantable sensor, and an external electronics module. The sensors are designed and manufactured using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, which allows creation of sensors with measurement stability and energy efficiency.

Its miniature wireless sensors can be permanently implanted in the patient’s heart and blood vessels, by using minimally-invasive techniques and then transmit vital patient data such as the cardiac output, blood pressure status, and heart rate data, which are critical to patient care and management. The sensors are small in size, extremely durable and lack wires and batteries. The information transmitted using Radiofrequency (RF) energy; the sensors transmit real-time data to external electronic readers.

The Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Director of CardioMEMS, Jay S. Yadav, M.D., said, "Arcapita has been a vital force behind our growth and expansion, and we are thankful that John and his team recognized our potential early-on and supported our development. As we look to the future, we are excited to have the support of a company like St. Jude Medical, with its significant expertise and focus in the areas of cardiac rhythm management, heart failure disease management and other cardiac technologies."


Carolyn John is a Contributor to HealthTechZone. To read more of her articles, please columnist page.

Edited by Juliana Kenny
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