Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Micrus Endovascular, a global developer and manufacturer of minimally invasive devices for hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. Johnson & Johnson announced its agreement to acquire Micrus on July 12, 2010.
Micrus Endovascular will operate under Codman Neurovascular, a business unit of Codman & Shurtleff, Inc., the global neurosurgery device company of the DePuy Family of Companies within Johnson & Johnson. Codman Neurovascular and Micrus offer innovative and complementary products and technologies for treating cerebral aneurysms, which can lead to stroke, the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease and cancer.
The Codman Neurovascular portfolio includes bare platinum coils, vascular reconstruction devices (VRDs) and access devices, and the Micrus portfolio includes enhanced bioactive coil devices, balloon catheters, delivery systems and stents for the treatment of intracranial stenosis.
"Codman and Micrus are coming together to create one of the broadest portfolios and one of the deepest pipelines in the neurovascular industry," said P. Laxmin Laxminarain, Worldwide President, Codman & Shurtleff. "There are significant unmet needs in the treatment of neurovascular disease, and our hope is that by bringing these companies together, we can fuel rapid and meaningful innovation that further improves patient care, outcomes and access to treatment."
Codman Neurovascular and Micrus Endovascular will work together to provide a strong suite of solutions for hemorrhagic stroke, with many promising products in development for ischemic stroke. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls neurological disorders, which affect about 1.7 billion people, one of the greatest threats to public health. Each year, approximately 800,000 people in the U.S. experience a stroke.
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