Edwards Lifesciences, one of the world’s leading medical device companies specializing in heart disease treatment, has completed the acquisition of Israeli startup Vectorious Medical Technologies in a $497 million cash transaction. This is the total sum being paid following the second phase of the deal: Edwards acquired about 52% of the company two years ago and is now purchasing the remaining 48%.
Vectorious was founded in 2011 by Dr. Eyal Orion and Oren Goldstein and grew out of the RAD Biomed incubator, established by the late Yehuda Zisapel and Prof. Nava Zisapel. To date, the company has raised only $35 million. It employs approximately 120 people, all based in Israel.
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Vectorious executive team.
(Tammy Montag for LW STUDIO)
The company has five classes of shares: ordinary shares and four types of preferred shares, which makes it difficult to determine the exact holding ratios at the time of sale. The main shareholders include the Zisapel family (through RAD Biomed, RAD Communications, and private holdings), Ari Steimatzky, Zohar Gilon, and Ari Raved together with his wife, Roni. The controlling stake is held by Edwards, which, even prior to the current transaction, owned all Class C preferred shares and thus controlled more than half of the company’s share capital. Additional foreign shareholders include Broadview Ventures, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Among the founders who still hold shares are Dr. Eyal Orion and Oren Goldstein, along with several other investors with relatively small stakes, including Dr. Gur Aryeh Mintzer.
Vectorious has developed an advanced treatment method for patients suffering from heart failure, a chronic disease caused by impaired function of the heart muscle and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Its technology, the V-LAP system, is a tiny, battery-free sensor implanted in a minimally invasive procedure in the left atrium of the heart. The device measures left atrial pressure (LAP), a key early indicator of worsening heart failure.
The sensor transmits data wirelessly, reducing the monitoring burden on patients. Alongside the implant, a lightweight portable external unit, worn like a belt for one minute daily, reads the data. The information is then transmitted to the cloud and made available to physicians, enabling continuous monitoring of the patient’s condition. Rising atrial pressure is often an early sign of fluid congestion or worsening heart failure, allowing physicians, or patients under supervision. to adjust treatment in real time, such as modifying drug dosages, and potentially preventing hospitalization.
Clinical trials have shown that the system reduces hospital readmissions, improves patients’ quality of life, and supports effective self-management of the disease. In 85% of cases, patients managed their condition successfully without the need for active medical intervention, avoiding dangerous congestion and pressure levels.
Edwards Lifesciences, which employs around 14,000 people and holds hundreds of patents in structural heart disease treatment, has been steadily increasing its footprint in Israel. About a year ago, the company acquired Israeli startup Involve Biomedical for $300 million. Involve, which emerged from Sheba Hospital, developed a catheter-based system for replacing the mitral valve, eliminating the need for complex open-heart surgery.
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