Johnson & Johnson's Codman Neuro, the business Integra Lifesciences is gearing up to buy for $1.05 billion, scooped up Irish stroke therapy company Neuravi Limited.

Amanda Pedersen

Neuravi Limited developed the EmboTrap clot-retreival device to restore blood flow to the brain. Neuravi launched the device in Europe in 2015 and said at that time it was getting ready to start a U.S. pivotal trial and anticipated FDA approval in 2017.

Integra Lifesciences raised some eyebrows earlier this year when it agreed to buy Johnson & Johnson's Codman Neuro business for $1.05 billion. But that hasn't stopped Codman Neuro from doing a little wheeling and dealing of its own, as it waits for the Integra deal to close later this year.

Codman Neuro picked up Galway, Ireland-based Neuravi Limited, a private stroke care company, and said the acquisition, along with its recent acquisition of Pulsar Vascular Inc., demonstrates its commitment to the stroke therapy space, and complements its portfolio of products for hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Irish Times reported that it is the largest exit for a venture-backed medtech company in Europe since Medtronic's $700 million CoreValve acquisition in 2009, which also included additional, milestone-based payments.

Meanwhile, Integra Sciences has been scrapping together the funds to pay for the Codman Neuro acquisition. Integra said last week it had expanded its credit facility with Bank of America to include a $700 million term loan to help finance the Codman acquisition. Integra said it expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter.

DePuy Ireland Unlimited Company, an affiliate of Codman Neuro, is technically the acquiring entity on the Neuravi deal.

Neuravi has developed the EmboTrap, a device designed to restore blood flow to the brain by retrieving a clot with its dual-layer stent-like structure. Neuravi launched the EmboTrap in Europe in 2015, and at that time the company already had an FDA investigational device exemption for a U.S. pivotal trial, and was targeting an FDA approval sometime in 2017.

Codman Neuro scooped up Los Gatos, CA-based Pulsar Vascular Inc. in December, before the Integra deal was announced. Financial terms of the Pulsar acquisition were not disclosed either, and DePuy Synthes Products Inc. was the acquiring entity on that transaction. 

Amanda Pedersen is Qmed's news editor. Contact her at [email protected].

[Image credit: Codman Neuro]