最近，波士顿科学公司表示将以9.25亿美以及额外的3亿美元的商业阶段性付款，收购总部位于明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯市的私募公司Preventice Solutions，该公司已经持约22％的股份。此前，Hillrom宣布计划以3.75亿美元收购总部位于华盛顿州西雅图的Bardy Diagnostics（BardyDx）。这两笔交易均在上周宣布，此前也有皇家飞利浦在12月中旬以28亿美元收购总部位于宾夕法尼亚州马尔文的BioTelemetry公司的消息。

根据Global Market Insights（全球营销洞察）在2020年8月发布的一份报告，到2026年，心律失常监测设备的市场价值将超过90亿美元。该报告还指出，具有增强的检测和便携性功能的新产品将刺激市场的增长。值得注意的是，COVID-19极大地推动了远程医疗监控领域，这可能是促进近期ECG监控并购大潮的因素之一。

此次收购将为波士顿科学公司其在高速增长的动态心电图领域中提供立足之地， 也为其极大的提供并补充了植入式心脏监护仪的机会。Preventice产品系列包括了远程医疗监护仪，可穿戴式心脏监护仪，适用于成人和儿童患者。监控仪是一个一体化的云平台，完全支持独立的诊断测试设施，并且提供临床技术人员和人工智能（AI）算法，这些都有可能会对临床诊断和结果有帮助。Preventice对AI和人类专业知识的整合旨在提高医师的效率和经验。

Hillrom总裁兼首席执行官John Groetelaars表示，与Hillrom-BardyDx的交易合作将成为我们在心脏诊断和服务领域领导策略的重要组成部门，这与我们推进互联医疗的愿景相一致，我们有信心，我们的合并团队可以继续在这些极具吸引力的市场中实现快速增长。BardyDx开发了康乃馨门诊监护仪（CAM）补丁程序，旨在提高患者的依从性，简化临床工作流程，并在报告中提供可用于临床的数据。CAM补丁是MD + DI在2020年5月的特别报告中重点介绍的创新之一，该报告共含有16项创新。其实早在该报告前，BardyDx就已经获得了14天版本补丁的CE标记。该补丁在2019年获得了FDA的认可，并在2020年2月获得了加拿大卫生部的许可。

飞利浦和BioTelemetry的结合也很强大，因为BioTelemetry非常适合飞利浦的心脏保健产品。BioTelemetry的产品包括可穿戴式心脏监护仪，可无线检测和传输异常的心律；以及基于AI的数据分析和服务。BioTelemetry每月拥有30,000多名独特的推荐医生，每年为超过一百万名患者提供服务。 除此之外，BioTelemetry还拥有临床研究业务，可为临床试验提供测试服务。

引自MDDI

Connecting the Dots on Recent ECG Monitoring M&A Spree

Two back-to-back acquisitions in the same sector can be called a coincidence, but three is a trend. Today we're taking a closer look at three recent acquisition announcements made in the span of 35 days, all focused on the ambulatory ECG monitoring market.

Most recently, Boston Scientific said it would acquire Minneapolis, MN-based Preventice Solutions, a private company it already held about a 22% stake in, for $925 million plus the potential of an additional $300 million commercial milestone payment. The announcement came on the heels of Hillrom announcing its planned acquisition of Seattle, WA-based Bardy Diagnostics (BardyDx) for $375 million. These two deals, both announced last week, followed Royal Philips' mid-December news of a $2.8 billion to acquire Malvern, PA-based BioTelemetry.

According to a report published in August 2020 by Global Market Insights, the market valuation of cardiac arrhythmia monitoring devices will cross $9 billion by 2026. The report said new product launches with enhanced detection and portability features will spur the market growth. It's also worth noting that COVID-19 has driven a major growth spurt in all things remote care monitoring, which is likely a factor in the recent M&A spree in ambulatory ECG monitoring.

The Boston Scientific-Preventice deal is expected to provide Boston Scientific with a foothold in the high-growth ambulatory electrocardiography space, which complements the company's recent entrance into the implantable cardiac monitor market. The Preventice portfolio includes the BodyGuardian family of remote, wearable cardiac monitors for adult and pediatric patients. The monitors use a fully integrated, cloud-based platform supported by an independent diagnostic testing facility, where clinical technicians and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms provide insights that may lead to improved clinical diagnoses and outcomes. Preventice's integration of AI and human expertise is designed to enhance physician efficiency and experience.

The Hillrom-BardyDx deal provides Hillrom with a highly strategic and differentiated diagnostic cardiology platform aligned with our vision of Advancing Connected Care, as well as an attractive recurring, high-growth revenue stream and gross margin profile, according to Hillrom President and CEO John Groetelaars. BardyDx has developed the Carnation Ambulatory Monitor (CAM) patch, which is designed to promote patient compliance, streamline clinical workflow, and yield clinically actionable data in a report. The CAM patch was one of 16 COVID-19 innovations spotlighted by MD+DI in a special report in May of 2020. The company received CE mark for a 14-day version of the patch before MD+DI’s report. The patch won a nod from FDA in 2019 and a Health Canada clearance in February 2020.

Philips and BioTelemetry make a strong pair also, as BioTelemetry fits nicely with Philips' cardiac care portfolio. BioTelemetry’s offering includes wearable heart monitors that detect and transmit abnormal heart rhythms wirelessly; and AI-based data analytics and services. With more than 30,000 unique referring physicians per month, BioTelemetry provides services for over one million patients per year, the company noted. BioTelemetry also has a clinical research business that provides testing services for clinical trials.