Medtronic Will Acquire Affera to Expand Cardiac Ablation Portfolio

January 10, 2022—Medtronic announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Affera, Inc., a privately held medical technology company focused on cardiac arrhythmia treatment. Affera is based in Newton, Massachusetts.

Affera designs and manufactures cardiac mapping and navigation systems and catheter-based cardiac ablation technologies (including a differentiated, focal pulsed field ablation solution) for the treatment of patients with cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AF). Affera’s product portfolio is not currently approved or available for sale or commercial use.

Through its minority investment portfolio, Medtronic has been a strategic investor in Affera and currently holds a 3% ownership stake in the company. The acquisition is expected to close the first half of Medtronic fiscal year 2023, subject to the satisfaction to certain customary closing conditions, advised Medtronic.

As stated in Medtronic’s announcement, the Affera Prism-1 cardiac mapping and navigation platform and Sphere-9 cardiac ablation catheter are investigational technologies designed to enable the rapid creation of detailed maps used by electrophysiologists to diagnose arrhythmias and deliver cardiac ablation therapy, respectively.

In December 2021, Affera announced the commencement of the recently approved SPHERE PerAF trial. Conducted under an FDA investigational device exemption, the pivotal randomized trial is designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Affera system for the treatment of persistent AF.

Affera’s full suite of solutions and technologies will complement the existing Medtronic atrial and ventricular arrhythmia disease management portfolio, stated Medtronic.