Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) to Acquire V-Wave

Johnson & Johnson1 (JNJ) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire V-Wave Ltd., a privately held company focused on developing innovative treatment options for patients with heart failure. Under the terms of the agreement, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) will acquire V-Wave for an upfront payment of $600 million, subject to customary adjustments, with the potential for additional regulatory and commercial milestone payments up to approximately $1.1 billion. V-Wave will join Johnson & Johnson as part of Johnson & Johnson MedTech.

The planned acquisition of V-Wave will extend Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s position as an innovation leader in addressing cardiovascular disease. It will further accelerate its shift into high-growth and high-opportunity markets and will deepen its relationships with structural interventional cardiologists and heart failure specialists.

Heart failure is a global health burden associated with impaired quality of life, frequent hospitalizations, increasing health-care costs, and high rates of premature death.2 V-Wave’s cardiovascular implant technology specifically targets heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). In HFrEF, a patient’s heart muscle has insufficient ability to pump blood containing oxygen and nutrients to the body. V-Wave’s Ventura® Interatrial Shunt (IAS) is a novel implantable device designed to decrease elevated left atrial pressure seen in congestive heart failure by creating a shunt between the left and right atrium, thereby reducing cardiovascular events and heart failure hospitalizations. More specifically, the device: