Boston Scientific announced today that it completed its previously announced acquisition of SoniVie.
In March, Boston Scientific announced that it agreed to acquire the intravascular ultrasound system developer. This acquisition brings Boston Scientific into the now-competitive renal denervation (RDN) space.
Recor Medical received a landmark FDA nod for its Paradise ultrasound-based RDN system in November 2023. Medtronic became the second company with such approval, receiving its nod for the Symplicity Spyral system just weeks later.
Boston Scientific was already a strategic investor in SoniVie, holding about a 10% equity stake. With this stake, the transaction features an upfront payment of approximately $360 million for the 90% stake not yet owned. It also includes up to $180 million in potential regulatory milestone payments. The equity stake notwithstanding, Boston Scientific values the deal at $400 million upfront with $200 million in milestones, bringing the total to $600 million.
The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based medtech company took to LinkedIn to share that it completed the deal:
“We have officially completed the acquisition of SoniVie Ltd, which will enable us to bring an innovative renal artery denervation technology to our interventional cardiology portfolio in the future,” the company wrote. “We’re proud to welcome the SoniVie team and look forward to shaping the future of hypertension care together.”
This marks yet another major acquisition for Boston Scientific in recent months, after the company completed its $1.18 billion acquisition of Silk Road Medical in September 2024, then closed the $3.7 billion buy of Axonics in November. To kick off the year, the company entered another hot space — intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) — by agreeing to buy Bolt Medical in January.
More about the SoniVie technology acquired by Boston Scientific
SoniVie develops the investigational Tivus system designed to denervate nerves surrounding blood vessels. The technology could treat a variety of hypertensive disorders, including renal artery denervation for hypertension.
The technology generates precise ultrasound energy that passes through the blood. It enters the renal arteries supplying blood to the kidneys without anchoring to the artery wall. This allows for continual blood flow to cool the treatment area.
Tivus, a catheter-based system, helps reduce activity in the kidney’s renal nerves to help regulate blood pressure. Compared to radiofrequency energy, ultrasound could penetrate the tissue more deeply, potentially resulting in faster procedures with effective nerve ablation.
SoniVie designed the energy to heat and ablate the bundles of nerves outside the arteries. It stops their ability to pass signals and reduces the sympathetic hormones released from the nerves. This results in the blood vessels relaxing and the reduction of the pressure within them.
The company recently initiated the THRIVE global FDA investigational device exemption (IDE) pivotal trial for Tivus.
