SMT acquires Vascular Concepts to make foray into structural heart segment

Medical devices maker Sahajanand Medical Technologies (SMT) announced acquisition of medical devices firm Vascular Concepts making a foray into the structural heart segment.

The development will further strengthen SMT’s position in the advance medical technologies and put it in a leadership position in the structural heart technologies. The SMT will now have an addition of aortic valve to its product categories, besides its landmark innovative biodegradable polymer coated coronary stent system.

The acquisition was completed on May 27. The financial considerations of the deal were not disclosed.

Founder and CEO Vascular Concepts Group Swaminathan Jayaraman will continue to manage the operations of the company to retain its distinct brand and independence, an official statement said.

Set up in 1988, one of India’s oldest medical device companies Vascular Concepts has a diversified product portfolio that includes coronary stents, cardiac closure devices, peripheral stents, unique balloon catheters like PTMC balloons and TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement), which is an innovative non-surgical procedure that substitutes the high-risk open-heart valve replacement surgery. TAVR is rapidly being adopted for the majority of the heart valve patients in India.

Structural heart segment

Dhirajlal Kotadia, Chairman of Sahajanand Group, said, “Structural heart segment is a fast-growing segment in cardiovascular industry. We strongly believe that SMT will play a major role within this segment and provide solutions to benefit patients and its wide customer base. Acquisition of Vascular Concepts Group reflects our commitment to become a leader in TAVI and structural heart technologies.”

The global market for heart valves is expected to cross $6 billion by the end of 2023 at a CAGR of 20 per cent.

The company developed and launched the Hydra transcatheter aortic valve system (TAVS), which has received Indian regulatory approval in 2020. It is used for the treatment of high-risk patients suffering from severe and symptomatic aortic valve stenosis.

“The Hydra TAVI system is a self-expanding supra-annular transcatheter aortic valve, which presents unique design features and similar event rates compared to contemporary devices in separate clinical studies conducted in India and Europe,” the statement said. The TAVI market is growing at about 20 per cent worldwide, Europe and the US being the main markets to date.

Vascular Concepts Group comprises two entities, based in India and Thailand. This medical device firm has more than 200 employees, two manufacturing setups and two research and development centres.

Jayaraman said, “This association (with SMT) will create tremendous market opportunities for both companies to grow in structural heart disease. Vascular Concepts is committed to driving further innovation in the field of structural heart which can be commercialised together with SMT.”