Surmodics Acquires Vetex Medical to Build Thrombectomy Portfolio

July 6, 2021—Surmodics, Inc. announced it has acquired privately held Vetex Medical Limited, a Galway, Ireland-based medical device company focused on venous clot removal solutions.

The transaction expands Surmodics’ thrombectomy portfolio with a second FDA 510(k)–cleared device, the ReVene mechanical thrombectomy catheter. Vetex announced clearance of the Revene on March 1, 2021. In May, the device was granted CE Mark certification.

Surmodics made an upfront payment of $39.9 million to acquire the company. Additional payments of up to $7 million—$3.5 million of which are guaranteed—may be made upon achievement of certain product development and regulatory milestones.

According to Surmodics, the Vetex ReVene device is designed to remove large, mixed-morphology blood clots commonly found with venous thromboembolism (VTE). The device features dual-action technology that efficiently removes clots in a single session, minimizing the need for thrombolytics and requiring no capital equipment.

The company advised that the ReVene thrombectomy catheter is indicated for mechanical declotting and controlled, selected infusion of physician-specified fluids, including thrombolytics, in the peripheral vasculature. The device currently is not indicated for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism.

Surmodics expects to initiate clinical evaluation activities for the ReVene thrombectomy catheter for removal of clot from veins in fiscal 2022. Additionally, the company noted it is beginning a study of its Pounce arterial thrombus-retrieval system for removing clot in peripheral arteries in the second half of fiscal 2021. FDA clearance of Pounce was announced in September 2020. A projected timeline for further commercialization will be announced later this fiscal year.

Professor Stephen Black, MD, who is Consultant Vascular Surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, United Kingdom, is principal investigator and leading enroller of the VETEX feasibility study of the device in patients with iliofemoral vein thrombus. 

Prof. Black presented the positive 1-year results of the study at Venous 2021, the annual meeting of the American Venous Forum that was held virtually March 17-20. The findings demonstrated that treatment with the device significantly improved the patients’ symptoms and quality of life while reducing their leg swelling.

Dr. Black commented in the Surmodics press release, “The ReVene thrombectomy catheter has the potential to significantly expand the use and accessibility of venous mechanical thrombectomy by allowing physicians to intervene early and complete the procedure in a single session. The ease of use, intuitive design, and efficient performance of this device enables it to become the first-line treatment and a confident choice by venous interventionalists.”

Also in the press release, Gary Maharaj, President and Chief Executive Officer of Surmodics, stated, “This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to the expansion of our thrombectomy platform to remove thrombus in venous vascular beds, with an exciting technology that offers significant improvements over current therapies. Surmodics is now well-positioned with two ground-breaking, FDA-cleared mechanical thrombectomy devices to treat both arterial and venous thrombosis. The synergies between the Vetex technology and their talented team with our capabilities on our Pounce thrombectomy technology enables us to accelerate our thrombectomy platform development for the future treatment of pulmonary embolism.”