Surmodics has acquired Vetex Medical Limited to build upon its thrombectomy portfolio. The Eden Prairie, MN-based company said it put an upfront payment of $39.9 million for Vetex Medical.

Additional payments of up to $7 million, $3.5 million of which are guaranteed, may be made upon achievement of certain product development and regulatory milestones. 

Galway, Ireland-based Vetex has developed the ReVene mechanical thrombectomy catheter, which is specifically designed to remove large, mixed-morphology blood clots commonly found with venous thromboembolism (VTE). The device’s dual action technology efficiently removes mixed-morphology clot in a single session, minimizing the need for thrombolytics and without capital equipment.

“This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to the expansion of our thrombectomy platform to remove thrombus in venous vascular beds, with an exciting technology that offers significant improvements over current therapies,” said Gary Maharaj, president and CEO of Surmodics. “Surmodics is now well positioned with two ground-breaking, FDA-cleared mechanical thrombectomy devices to treat both arterial and venous thrombosis. The synergies between the Vetex technology and their talented team, with our capabilities on our Pounce thrombectomy technology enables us to accelerate our thrombectomy platform development for the future treatment of pulmonary embolism.”

Surmodics said it expects to initiate clinical evaluation activities for Pounce Arterial Thrombus Retrieval System for removing clot in peripheral arteries in the second half of fiscal 2021 and for the ReVene Thrombectomy Catheter for removal of clot from veins in fiscal 2022. The company said a projected timeline for further commercialization will be announced later this fiscal year.