Boston Scientific, a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices, agreed to acquire BridgePoint Medical, a privately held company based in Minneapolis, Minn. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012 subject to customary closing conditions.

Boston Scienfic will gain BridgePoint’s proprietary, catheter-based system to treat coronary chronic total occlusions (CTOs). The CTO system is comprised of the CrossBoss CTO Crossing Catheter and the Stingray CTO Re-Entry System, and is designed to navigate highly occluded coronary arteries as a FDA clearance and CE Mark, and is currently the only crossing and re-entry system cleared in the U.S. for use in coronary CTOs.

"The acquisition of BridgePoint Medical is expected to build upon our rich product portfolio in cardiology and represents an important part of our growth strategy in this critical market,” said Hank Kucheman, CEO of Boston Scientific. “We believe the BridgePoint coronary devices will provide the Boston Scientific interventional cardiology business a dedicated CTO solution while the Boston Scientific peripheral intervention business offers the TruePath CTO Device and OffRoad CTO Device. This will position the company as the leader in CTO technologies across the cardiovascular system."

CTOs are chronically occluded coronary arteries—typically for 3 months or longer—that prevent blood circulation to critical areas of the heart. CTO devices are designed to permit endovascular treatment in cases that otherwise might require a patient to undergo invasive intervention, such as coronary artery bypass surgery.

"Complete arterial blockages pose a major challenge in the treatment of coronary artery disease, and this CTO system gives physicians an important treatment option in these difficult cases," said Marty Leon, director of the center for interventional vascular therapy at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. "Many of these patients would have previously been referred for bypass surgery, typically requiring weeks of recovery. Now, many of them are able to go home within 24 hours."

The transaction is expected to have an immaterial impact on GAAP and adjusted earnings in 2012 and 2013 and be modestly accretive thereafter.  Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.