Johnson & Johnson has entered a definitive agreement to buy V-Wave, a developer of cardiovascular implant technology.
Under the terms of the agreement, Johnson & Johnson will acquire V-Wave for an upfront payment of $600 million, with the potential for additional regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to approximately $1.1 billion.
The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2024 and is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Following the completion of the transaction, V-Wave will be part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech.
In a statement, the firms said the acquisition of V-Wave will expand Johnson & Johnson MedTech's position in addressing cardiovascular disease and heart failure in particular.
V-Wave's Ventura Interatrial Shunt (IAS) is an implantable device that received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) breakthrough device designation in 2019 and the CE Mark in the EU. It was designed to decrease elevated left atrial pressure, which is common in congestive heart failure, by creating a shunt between the left and right atrium, thereby reducing cardiovascular events and heart failure hospitalizations.
V-Wave's cardiovascular implant technology targets heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) in which a patient’s heart muscle has insufficient ability to pump blood containing oxygen and nutrients to the body. According to the company, the Ventura IAS addresses an unmet need for approximately 800,000 patients with HFrEF in the U.S. every year.
