Biosense Webster acquires Coherex Medical Inc and with it the Coherex WaveCrest Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Occlusion System

Biosense Webster announced that it has acquired Coherex Medical, a privately held medical device company focused on the development of the Coherex WaveCrest Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Occlusion System. The device is designed to permanently occlude the LAA in high-risk atrial fibrillation (AF) patients to help reduce the incidence of stroke caused by the migration of blood clots formed in the LAA, which is recognised as the source of blood clots in approximately 90% of patients who have AF. AF is associated with a five-fold increased risk of stroke and prevention in patients with AF represents a large unmet clinical need. This acquisition reinforces the company's commitment to providing innovative, minimally invasive therapies for the treatment of AF, which affects over 3 million patients in the United States and 20 million worldwide. The Coherex WaveCrest LAA occlusion system received CE Mark in September 2013. It is not yet available for investigational use or commercial distribution in the US.