ATLANTA (December 18, 2008) — On December 8th, a group of Smith, Gambrell & Russell attorneys assisted client Given Imaging Ltd. in finalizing the acquisition of the Bravo(R) pH monitoring business for the diagnosis of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) from Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) for $20 million.
Jay Schwartz was lead counsel. Larry Colton, Bruce Crabtree, Eric Mandus, Jonathan Minnen, David Santi, Michelle Edwards, Jeff Bekiares, Emily Cacioppo, Julie Sebastian, and Chris Yarbrough were also part of the SGR team.
“We were delighted to be transaction counsel for one of Israel’s premier companies,” said Jonathan Minnen, relationship partner at SGR for Given Imaging, and chair of the Firm’s Israel Practice Group. “Given Imaging has made a tremendous contribution to healthcare through the development of capsule endoscopy, and the Bravo monitoring business will be a great addition to their product line.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Given Imaging will pay Medtronic $20 million. A small portion of the purchase price is contingent upon Medtronic completing the development of a new capsule delivery system already underway. During the first 12 months after the transaction closes, Medtronic will continue to supply the Bravo products to Given Imaging. During this 12-month period, Given Imaging intends to complete the transition of the Bravo system manufacturing operations to Israel.
The only wireless, catheter-free pH test for GERD, the Bravo system uses a disposable capsule temporarily placed in the esophagus that measures pH levels and transmits the data to an external receiver. The Bravo pH monitoring system is sold mainly in the US and to a lesser extent in Europe and is backed by strong reimbursement coverage in the US.
Given Imaging is redefining gastrointestinal diagnosis by developing, producing and marketing innovative, patient-friendly products for detecting gastrointestinal disorders. The company’s technology platform is the PillCam(R) Platform, featuring the PillCam video capsule, a disposable, miniature video camera contained in a capsule, which is ingested by the patient, a sensor array, data recorder and RAPID(R) software. Given Imaging markets a number of available capsules: the second-generation PillCam SB 2 video capsule to visualize the entire small intestine which is currently marketed in the United States and in more than 60 other countries; the second-generation PillCam ESO 2 video capsule to visualize the esophagus; the Agile(TM) patency capsule to determine the free passage of the PillCam capsule in the GI tract and the PillCam COLON video capsule to visualize the colon that has been cleared for marketing in the European Union. PillCam COLON has received a CE Mark, but is not cleared for marketing or available for commercial distribution in the USA. More than 820,000 sold allowing patients worldwide to benefit from the PillCam capsule endoscopy procedure. Given Imaging’s headquarters, manufacturing and R&D facilities are located in Yoqneam, Israel. It has operating subsidiary companies in the United States, Germany, France, Japan, Australia and Singapore. Given Imaging’s largest shareholders include Elron Electronic Industries. For more information, visit givenimaging.com.