Medtronic to acquire French spinal implant developer Medicrea
Companies have entered into a tender offer agreement
Ireland-based medical device manufacturer Medtronic has announced its intention to acquire France-based Medicrea, a company specializing in the production of patient-specific spinal implants using artificial intelligence and predictive modeling. The companies have entered into a tender offer agreement for Medtronic to purchase all outstanding Medicrea shares (at a price of €7 per share). The deal seems to be moving ahead without issue, as the Boards of Directors of both sides have approved.Once the acquisition of Medicrea goes through, Medtronic will be better positioned to offer its customers state-of-the-art spinal surgery solutions, complementing its own offering of spinal implants, robotics and 3D imaging technology with Medicrea’s AI-driven, custom implants. Medicrea also has an advanced manufacturing facility in Lyon, France dedicated to the development and production of 3D printed titanium patient-specific implants.
“Combining Medtronic’s innovative portfolio of spine implants, robotics, navigation, and 3D imaging technology with Medicrea’s capabilities and solutions in data analytics, artificial intelligence and personalized implants, would enhance Medtronic’s fully-integrated procedural solution for surgical planning and delivery. This marks another important step in furthering our commitment to improving outcomes in spine care,” said Jacob Paul, Senior Vice President and President of the Cranial & Spinal Technologies division at Medtronic. “Medtronic will become the first company to be able to offer an integrated solution including artificial intelligence driven surgical planning, personalized spinal implants and robotic assisted surgical delivery, which will significantly benefit our customers and their patients.”
Denys Sournac, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Medicrea, added: “Spine surgery is one of the more complex procedures in healthcare because of the high number of different parameters to take into consideration. It is impossible for the human brain to compute all of them for one single patient. The medical world has been waiting for the arrival of customization in spinal surgery. With scientific progress in understanding sagittal balance and spinal injury, combined with the advent of new digital technologies, it is now possible to offer spinal patients entirely customized implants. We are thrilled to be joining forces with Medtronic because we share a similar mission to restore the long-term quality of life for patients. Now, together, we can help more patients in more places benefit from consistently high-quality surgical care.”
The acquisition tender is expected to be filed by the companies with the AMF in September 2020, if all goes well the deal is expected to close by the end of 2020. For an overview of Medtronic’s use of additive manufacturing in its implant business, read our article from our Medical AM Focus. Notably, the company was also responsible for releasing all CAD files and PCB schematics for the Medtronic PB560 ventilator system to help address the shortage of ventilators due to COVID-19.
