The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) intends to lodge a complaint to block an investment company from acquiring a medical device coating business. The agency warns that such a deal threatens competition and is harmful to patients.
The FTC’s complaint seeks to block Illinois-based private equity venture GTCR BC Holdings, LLC, from acquiring Surmodics, Inc., the agency said in a March 6 statement. GTCR already owns a majority stake in Biocoat, Inc., the second-largest provider of hydrophilic coatings in the United States, after Surmodics.
“Hydrophilic coatings allow physicians to maneuver medical devices within the tight confines of the body—within a blood vessel in the brain, for example—without damaging sensitive tissue or vital structures,” the FTC said. “Medical devices with hydrophilic coatings are used in a range of interventional neurovascular, structural heart, coronary, and peripheral vascular procedures.”…