Johnson & Johnson will acquire all outstanding shares of Shockwave Medical for an enterprise value of approximately $13.1 billion. The transaction was approved by both companies’ boards of directors.
The acquisition of Shockwave aims to extend Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s position in cardiovascular intervention and accelerate its shift into higher-growth markets. Cardiovascular intervention is one of the fastest-growing global medtech markets, according to the company.
“With our focus on Innovative Medicine and MedTech, Johnson & Johnson has a long history of tackling cardiovascular disease – the leading cause of death globally,” said Joaquin Duato, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson. “The acquisition of Shockwave and its leading IVL technology provides a unique opportunity to accelerate our impact in cardiovascular intervention and drive greater value for patients, shareholders and health systems.”
Expansion into Cardiovascular Intervention
With the addition of Shockwave, Johnson & Johnson will expand its MedTech cardiovascular portfolio into two innovation-oriented segments of cardiovascular intervention – coronary artery disease (CAD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD).
The transaction follows Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s successful acquisitions of Abiomed, a leader in heart recovery, and more recently Laminar, an innovator in left atrial appendage elimination for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AFib). These acquisitions complement and build on Johnson & Johnson’s established global leadership position in electrophysiology through the Biosense Webster portfolio. Following the close of the transaction, Johnson & Johnson MedTech will be a category leader in four high-growth cardiovascular segments.
Shockwave Medical Portfolio
Shockwave is a provider of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) technology for the treatment of calcified CAD and PAD. IVL is a minimally invasive, catheter-based treatment for calcified arterial lesions, which can reduce blood flow and cause pain or heart attack.
IVL helps restore blood flow by cracking calcium lesions using sonic pressure waves and is used in both CAD and PAD, often in combination with stenting. Shockwave offers the only commercially available IVL technology and has treated approximately 400,000 patients globally.
In addition to its leading IVL platform, Shockwave also recently acquired Neovasc Inc., a company that has developed the Reducer System, a novel product focused on symptom relief of refractory angina. It is currently undergoing clinical studies in the U.S. and is CE marked in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
