Varian Is in Bold New Territory with Acquisition

Varian Medical Systems’ latest acquisition has the cancer care solutions-specialist entering into new territory. The Palo Alto, CA-based company is picking up CyberHeart, a firm with intellectual property (IP) that covers the use of radiation in the heart (cardiac radioablation) and other forms of radiosurgery for cardiovascular disease.

The two companies did not disclose the amount.

“This is a new area and Varian is excited about the potential application of stereotactic radioablation to the cardiac space – specifically treating patients who are suffering from irregular heartbeats,” Dee Khuntia, CMO at Varian, told MD+DI. “Based on the articles we have seen in the New England Journal of Medicine and in Circulation, we are enthused about this space.”

Varian's acquisition of CyberHeart also involved the transfer of IP.

Cardiac Radioablation has been a hot topic, but there aren’t any technologies that have received approval in the space. Varian is hedging its bets with the acquisition because the market size for cardiac radioablation is not yet known.

“Cardiac radioablation technologies are not yet approved by FDA so it is not possible to discuss market size at this stage,” Khuntia said. “This technology requires a Premarket Approval (PMA) and additional clinical evidence will be needed to support the PMA approval. We are evaluating our clinical trial strategy.”