Medtronic launches Mozarc Medical, a joint venture with DaVita focused on renal care

Medtronic has completed the spinoff of its renal care business into the new Mozarc Medical, a joint venture with outpatient dialysis provider DaVita Inc.

The company, announced this past Saturday, focuses on finding new therapies for patients with kidney failure.

"At a time when patient preferences are evolving and in-home kidney care is on the rise, Mozarc Medical is uniquely positioned to better serve patients with kidney disease around the world," Mozarc CEO Ven Manda said in a statement.

Manda, a 28-year veteran of Medtronic, was previously president of Medtronic Renal Care Solutions.

Mozarc's website lists the company's primary address as the same building in Fridley that serves as Medtronic's operational headquarters, and Manda will continue to work from there. Medtronic is legally based in Ireland.

Beyond that, Mozarc also has "region headquarters" offices in Italy, Japan and China. DaVita is based in Denver, and Mozarc has a small office in Colorado as well.

Mozarc has approximately 1,700 employees worldwide. A Mozarc spokeswoman declined to comment on the exact number of former Medtronic employees who are now working for the new company.

"We largely lifted and shifted the Renal Care Solutions business and workforce to Mozarc Medical," Mozarc spokeswoman Dori Estrella-Sands said.

For the first three quarters of Medtronic's fiscal year, through Jan. 27, its renal care business posted revenue of $197 million, about 1% of the company's overall revenue.

Medtronic and DaVita announced this plan last May. The agreement called for both companies to invest $200 million in the joint venture.

The venture with DaVita is one piece of Medtronic's efforts to shed businesses it doesn't consider a core operation.

In October, Medtronic announced plans to spin off its patient monitoring and respiratory interventions businesses, which accounted for a combined $2.2 billion in revenue in the previous fiscal year. At the time, Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha said additional divestitures were possible.

In the short term, the spinoffs mean less revenue and fewer employees for Medtronic. But future acquisitions could fuel growth for the company.

In February, Martha said the company had started "significant cost reductions" to address ongoing challenges.