Medical device company picks up option to acquire Harpoon Medical

Under a new deal announced last week, Harpoon Medical could be in line for an acquisition.

The Camden Yards-based startup received a structured investment from medtech giant Edwards Lifesciences. Part of the deal is an investment upfront, and the deal also includes an option for Edwards to acquire Harpoon, according to a statement issued at Edwards’ annual investor conference. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to Harpoon CFO Peter Boyd, Harpoon will continue to operate as a standalone entity unless Edwards exercises its option to buy the company. Edwards, which is based in Irvine, Calif., specializes in technologies for treating heart disease.

“Based on our conversations with Edwards we expect that they will maintain an R&D presence in the Baltimore area even if they buy the company, but that decision would be made by Edwards,” Boyd said in an email to Technical.ly.

Harpoon makes a device that would create a shorter, less invasive open-heart surgery procedure on the mitral valve, which is located between the left atrium and left ventricle. The device, which was developed at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is designed to cut surgery time, typically three to six hours, to as little as 60 minutes. It can be performed while the heart is beating, removing the need to put a patient on a heart-lung machine.

In October, the company reported a 100 percent success rate after a doctor used the device for 10 procedures as part of an early feasibility study at two clinical centers in Poland. Right now, Boyd said the company is focused on more clinical studies.

Boyd said the company plans to grow “modestly” over the next 18 months, adding employees in R&D, regulatory and clinical.

The company previously raised more than $5 million from the Abell Foundation, TEDCO and various executives. The startup received the first funding from the University of Maryland’s UM Ventures, and was among the winners of this year’s InvestMaryland Challenge.