QT Vascular completes US$28m sale of catheter product to Medtronic, requests to lift trading halt

CATALIST-listed QT Vascular has requested the lifting of a trading halt to the Singapore bourse after the company announced the completion of the sale of Chocolate PTA balloon catheter to Medtronic on Tuesday.

QT Vascular, which specialises in developing catheter products, said on May 12 that it had agreed to a deal that gave Medtronic the option to buy the Chocolate PTA balloon catheter product for US$28 million if the option was exercised within 90 days upon the achievement of certain milestones.

With the sale of its non-drug coated peripheral product, the company said that it will continue to develop and market its other products including a drug coated version of Chocolate PTA (Chocolate Touch), which has received Investigational Device Exemption approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

"We are very pleased with the completion of the sale of our non-drug coated peripheral product, the Chocolate PTA balloon catheter, to Medtronic, the world's leading medical device company," said QT Vascular's chief executive officer Eitan Konstantino.

"This is a validation of the intrinsic value of our internally developed products."

Said Mark Pacyna, Medtronic Cardiac & Vascular Group's vice-president and general manager of the Peripheral business: "The acquisition of the Chocolate PTA balloon will strengthen our portfolio, providing customers with both a stand-alone and adjunctive treatment option for peripheral artery disease above and below the knee."

The company had requested a trading halt prior to the opening of trade on Monday in view of this announcement.