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Boston Scientific to Buy Cryterion Medical to Widen EP Suite

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Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX - Free Report) recently announced the acquisition of Cryterion Medical, Inc. — a privately-held developer of a single-shot cryoablation platform for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Through this acquisition, Boston Scientific will become the only company to boast a comprehensive portfolio, covering both the cryothermal and radiofrequency single-shot, balloon-based ablation therapies.

Cryterion Medical plans to submit the clinical evidence from the ongoing study of its cryoablation system to get the CE Mark in early 2019. Further, the company plans to submit an investigational device exemption application to the FDA to seek regulatory approval in the United States.

Financial Terms of the Deal

Boston Scientific has an existing investment in Cryterion Medical and is going to make a net upfront payment of approximately $202 million in cash for the remaining stake of around 65%.

However, the transaction is not expected to be accretive to the company’s adjusted earnings per share through 2020.

Glimpse of EP Business

Boston Scientific’s EP business develops less-invasive medical technologies to diagnose and treat disorders of heart rate as well as rhythm.

In first-quarter 2018, revenues in this division improved 11.5% year over year to $75 million, organically. The upside was driven by the higher uptake of the new RHYTHMIA HDx platform. Management continues to roll out the HDx platform in Europe and it recently launched the platform in the United States as well as Japan.

Overall, the company continues to expand the toolkit that supports RHYTHMIA HDx, providing ablation technologies that match the excellence of its Mapping System. Additionally, it focuses on adding tools that expand the reach and utility of RHYTHMIA HDx in different procedures.

Moreover, to expand its EP business, Boston Scientific recently announced the acquisition of Securus Medical Group, Inc — a privately-held developer of the thermal monitoring system for the continuous measurement of esophageal temperature.

Market Potential

Boston Scientific’s strategy to boost the EP business seems to be aligned with data provided by Allied Market Research Per the report, the global cardiac monitoring and cardiac rhythm management market is expected to reach a value of $32,216 million from 2016 to 2022, at a CAGR of 7.6%.

Per the company, the global EP market is expected to worth $5 billion in 2018. Further, growing at double digits, single-shot ablation therapies are estimated to be the most rapidly growing sub-segment within the EP market.

Thus, the addition of the single-shot cryoablation platform will help Boston Scientific cash in on the abundant opportunities in the global cardiac monitoring and cardiac rhythm management market.

Share Price Performance

Boston Scientific has been gaining investors’ confidence on consistently positive results. Over the past three months, shares of the company have outperformed its broader industry. The stock has rallied 20.8% versus the industry’s 8.9% increase.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Boston Scientific currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Genomic Health , Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN - Free Report) and Stryker Corporation (SYK - Free Report) .

Genomic Health has an expected earnings growth rate of 187.5% for the current quarter. The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Align Technology has a projected long-term earnings growth rate of 28.4% and a Zacks Rank of 2.

Stryker has a projected long-term earnings growth rate of 9.7%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2.

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