St Jude Medical announced LightLab Imaging takeover

St Jude Medical has agreed a deal to acquire the coronary imaging specialist LightLab Imaging, a move which will allow it to expand into new markets.

The takeover agreement will see St Jude pay $90 million (62.7 million pounds) to LightLab’s current owner Goodman, with the transaction set to be finalised by the end of the second quarter of 2010.

Purchasing LightLab allows St Jude to take advantage of its optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology, which has been shown to provide coronary image resolution ten times greater than intravascular ultrasound imaging systems.

This market is expected to grow at a double-digit compounded annual rate over the course of the next five years.

Daniel Starks, chairman, president and chief executive officer of St Jude Medical, said: “We are excited by the many opportunities this acquisition creates for St Jude Medical and LightLab, physician customers and their patients.”

Earlier this month, St Jude launched a new wireless USB adaptor for its Merlin At Home device, allowing patient data to be transmitted wirelessly to physicians.