An Israeli publication is reporting that minimally invasive pulmonary device company superDimension is in acquisition talks to be bought for $300 million.
The suitor is Massachusetts-based Covidien, according to the Globes business publication. Covidien Ventures, the company’s venture capital arm, was an investor in superDimension’s latest financing round in September, when it raised $11 million.
Other investors of superDimension include OrbiMed Advisors, Oxford Biosciences Partners, Pitango Venture Capital and Medica Venture Partners.
A call to the company’s CEO Dan Sullivan was received by his assistant who said she would pass on the query to Sullivan. A call to the company’s chief financial officer Rick Buchholz was not immediately returned.
The Minnesota company’s iLogic system diagnoses and treats lung cancer using Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy “to provide minimally invasive access to lesions deep in the lungs as well as mediastinal lymph nodes,” according to superDimension’s website.
Through this minimally invasive procedure that extends the reach of standard bronchoscopes, physicians are able to diagnose both benign and safe lesions in the lung, thereby improving treatment decisions. The company’s technology also prevents the need for higher-risk interventions to diagnose and treat lung cancer.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
In a statement announcing the $11 million financing round, Sullivan said that the company’s Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy (ENB) has been used more than 22,000 times in more than 350 hospitals worldwide.
The company was founded in Tel Aviv, but has headquarters in Plymouth, Minnesota.
