Lombard Acquires Low-Profile EVAR Device Developer Altura Medical

July 30, 2015—Lombard Medical has announced the acquisition of Altura Medical, the Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of a low-profile endovascular stent graft system for treating abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). 

The Altura device gained CE Mark in 2015, and Lombard plans to launch it in Europe in January 2016, with a broader international launch to follow later in the year. In the United States, Lombard says it intends to file for an investigational device exemption with the Food and Drug Administration in early 2016 and begin enrollment in a US clinical study later in the year. 

In the announcement, Lombard CEO Simon Hubbert spoke about the Altura system’s addition to the company’s product line, which currently includes the Aorfix platform. Mr. Hubbert estimated that Altura could account for up to 20% of Lombard’s total revenue in 2016, providing a new option for AAA patients with standard anatomies while Aorfix remains the only on-label option for patients with aortic neck angulations up to 90º.

Also quoted was Professor Dierk Scheinert, MD, Chairman of the Division of Interventional Angiology at University Hospital Leipzig in Germany and Chairman of the Leipzig Interventional Course (LINC). "The Altura device offers a new ultra-low profile stent graft system without compromising the robustness and durability of the wire and graft fabric," said Professor Scheinert. "The added benefits of this smart system are the ability to reposition during deployment and place each graft accurately to each renal artery enabling physicians to utilize all the available aortic neck. It also removes the need for cannulation and therefore provides a simple, intuitive, safe and consistent deployment system with predictable and shorter procedure times."

A description of the Altura Agili-D AAA Endograft System and its delivery mechanisms can be found on the company's website.