Edwards Life Sciences buys CardiAq Valve Technologies to advance its business in mitral valve replacement

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation has announced that it has agreed to acquire CardiAQ Valve Technologies, Inc., a privately held company and developer of a transcatheter mitral valve replacement system for $350 million with an additional $50 million payable based on achieving a European regulatory milestone. Edwards believes that the combination of its Fortis mitral valve replacement system and the system from CardiAq will enable important advancements for patients. CardiAQ has received a FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval to conduct an early feasibility study of up to 20 patients, and also plans to initiate a CE Mark study in Europe.Edwards' own program to develop a transcatheter mitral valve replacement device, called Fortis, has been on pause since May, after safety concerns related to valve thrombosis.