Siemens Healthineers Enables Robotic-Vascular Interventions With The Forerunner Technology
"Together with Corindus, Siemens Healthineers is well-positioned to be one of the leading players in the field of robotic vascular interventions and to perform minimally invasive procedures more accurately, more quickly and more effectively. With this acquisition, we are opening up a new field for our image-guided therapies business. Together with our strong portfolio in imaging, digitalization and artificial intelligence, we are creating significant synergies to advance therapy outcomes", said Bernd Montag, CEO of Siemens Healthineers AG.
"The collaboration with Siemens Healthineers is a unique opportunity to take our business to the next level and continue our success story. Together we plan to develop next-generation solutions that further improve patient care“, said Mark Toland, President and CEO at Corindus.
Siemens Healthineers AG has entered into a merger agreement with U.S.-based Corindus Vascular Robotics, Inc. (NYSE American: CVRS), a global technology leader for robotic-assisted vascular interventions. Under the terms of the agreement, Siemens Healthineers will acquire all fully diluted shares of Corindus for $4.28 per share in cash or $1.1 billion in total. The transaction is expected to be closed by end of the calendar year 2019, subject to Corindus shareholder approval, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The Corindus board fully supports the acquisition proposal. Corindus is headquartered in Waltham, Boston, Massachusetts, and currently has approximately 100 employees.
Corindus develops, produces and sells robotic systems for minimally invasive procedures. These systems help doctors to precisely control guide catheters, guide wires, balloon or stent implants via integrated imaging. The physician does not have to stand at the angiography table as usual but can control the procedure with a separate controlling module and is, therefore, less exposed to radiation. Corindus is currently one of the leading companies offering a robotic treatment platform for major vascular therapeutic markets, meaning coronary, peripheral vascular and neurovascular1 interventions. For example, heart disease is the most common cause of death in the U.S. Every year, more than four million percutaneous coronary interventions are carried out worldwide.
The acquisition of Corindus meets the objective of simplifying today's challenges in everyday hospital life. Robotic-assisted minimally invasive procedures have the potential to reduce treatment times, increase precision during treatment, raise standardization levels in clinical procedures and ultimately improve clinical outcomes, which is the strategic focus of the Advanced Therapies business segment.
“The interplay of exact imaging and robotic-assisted interventions will enhance both the eyes and hands of the physician, metaphorically speaking. With the addition of Corindus to our strong therapies portfolio, we sharpen our procedural focus and will grow by expanding precision medicine and improving clinical outcomes. In the future, our digital and artificial intelligence-based tools will help to integrate the aspects of image-guidance and therapy even further”, said Michel Therin, President Advanced Therapies at Siemens Healthineers.
The application of CorPath GRX for neurovascular interventions is not available in all countries, in particular not in the USA.
The CorPath systems developed by Corindus will be used together with angiography systems that Siemens Healthineers sells as one of the leading suppliers. The Siemens Healthineers products make minimally invasive treatment possible by using high-quality imaging before and during medical interventions. The company's leading role in image-based minimally invasive procedures is now complemented by robotic-assisted precision medicine. This expansion strengthens the therapy position of Siemens Healthineers and underlines its role as one of the leading providers of solutions along the entire treatment path. This makes the acquisition of Corindus a strategically significant extension of Siemens Healthineers' therapy business.
The future integration of Siemens Healthineers digitization and artificial intelligence solutions with Corindus' robotic systems offers further promising possibilities. The aim is to further increase procedure optimization in order to enable the greatest possible degree of efficiency and clinical reproducibility. In addition, Corindus is driving forward the approval procedure for remote robotic treatment in vascular interventions. Due to the limited availability of specialists for minimally invasive procedures in many regions and the limited number of corresponding clinical facilities, remote treatment could significantly improve patients' access to treatment in the future.
