Pursuit Vascular is a private medical device company with focus on new catheter disinfecting products and technologies

ICU Medical

Image: Pursuit Vascular’s ClearGuard HD cap. Photo: Courtesy of ICU Medical, Inc.

ICU Medical, a developer of medical products used in infusion therapy, has entered into an agreement to acquire Pursuit Vascular, for $75m with additional earnout payment potentially due in 2021.

Pursuit Vascular is a private medical device company with focus on new catheter disinfecting products and technologies to reduce costly bloodstream infections and lower healthcare costs.

Pursuit Vascular’s primary product is the ClearGuard HD cap that is intended for usage in maintaininging hemodialysis catheters. Patients undergoing dialysis treatments are at high risk of getting an infection as their blood is accessed frequently.

ClearGuard HD is claimed to kill infection-causing bacteria and fungi inside of a hemodialysis catheter to help reduce infections. Touted to be an effective and easy-to-use solution, it has been shown in two large scale clinical studies to reduce bloodstream infections in 70% of patients, when compared to other products.

Pursuit Vascular to enhance ICU Medical’s consumables product offering across multiple geographies

As addressing catheter line associated bloodstream infections is key part of ICU Medical’s consumables technologies,   the acquisition of ClearGuard HD is expected to result in  natural synergies in this area.

By acquiring Pursuit Vascular, ICU Medical is expected to enhance its consumables product offering across several geographies and customer channels. The company could immediately add the product to its existing domestic and international channels focused on both acute and non-acute settings.

ICU Medical CEO Vivek Jain said: “ICU Medical has always been deeply focused on improving patient safety and creating the best workflow for clinicians. The ClearGuard HD is a natural extension of our needlefree IV connector and other infection control technologies, which together will provide best of breed solutions.

“We have been studying the category for a long time, and have been tracking the progress at Pursuit Vascular for more than two years. We believe the time is right for this acquisition because the product has shown clinical efficacy with untapped market potential, and the company has scaled up production capacity and know-how.

“ICU Medical has finished the majority of integration activities related to the 2017 Hospira Infusion Systems acquisition and can quickly integrate a logical bolt-on acquisition. Similar to our Excelsior acquisition a few years ago, this acquisition is the proper way to enter a market where we can both innovate and expand the category.”

Pursuit Vascular will continue focusing on penetrating the hemodialysis market in the near term. Its full-year 2019 annual revenues are estimated to be between $10 and $12m with margins comparable to the existing ICU Medical IV consumables business.

Pursuit Vascular executive chairman Roy Martin said: “Pursuit Vascular is excited to be a part of ICU Medical.  Our ClearGuard HD is a leading-edge infection prevention device for dialysis procedures and a great fit with the existing product portfolio of ICU Medical.

“We are poised for international expansion using the global distribution capabilities of our new parent, and our innovative R&D capabilities are a perfect match with ICU’s long-standing reputation and culture of technology leadership. We believe this union is a great opportunity for our customers, our employees, and the clinical communities we serve.”