St. Jude Medical Spends $200 Million on Pain Management Tech

St. Jude Medical has announced an agreement to acquire NeuroTherm, a manufacturer of pain management therapies, according to a company news release. The $200-million acquisition will enable St. Jude to enter the market for spinal pain treatment using radiofrequency ablation (RFA) therapy.St. Jude expects to complete the transaction by the end of the third quarter and predicts that the acquisition will add about $10 million to $15 million to its 2014 sales. This year, the transaction will be neutral to St. Jude's consolidated earnings per share (excluding acquisition-related expenses).NeuroTherm is a privately held company specializing in minimally invasive pain management products, including radiofrequency ablation (RFA) therapies for spinal pain. It is a treatment that has been used for over 25 years. The treatment works by using heat to destroy painful nerves and can be used prior to neurostimulation or surgical intervention.NeuroTherm's flagship technology is the NT2000iX RF generator, which has four independent RF channels. This allows for simultaneous treatment of multiple sites, real-time temperature monitoring, and the elimination of unwanted stimulation. The product also features independent timers, which are designed to ensure a complete treatment of each targeted nerve. The NT2000iX can be used with NeuroTherm's RF needles and electrodes. NeuroTherm also makes epidural catheters and products for intradiscal therapy, vertebroplasty and vertebral augmentation.NeuroTherm's technology will complement St. Jude's chronic pain portfolio and will make the company the only one that offers both RFA and spinal cord stimulation, according to the press release. St. Jude's product line for spinal cord stimulation products include implantable pulse generators, paddle leads, percutaneous leads, steerable paddle leads, lead anchors, and programming platforms. The company's Eon Mini rechargeable pulse generator is said to be one of the smallest on the market.

Chronic pain affects more than 1.5 billion people worldwide. In the United States, more people are impacted by chronic pain than heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined. 230 Americans were diagnosed with acute and chronic pain in 2013, but only about 8% received interventional therapy.NeuroTherm's products are available in over 65 countries and the company has registered over 40 patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Wilmington, MA.

Camilla Andersson is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.

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