Plymouth med-tech startup Urotronic sold for at least $255M

Urotronic Inc., a medical device startup in Plymouth, has been sold in a deal that could be worth as much as $600 million.

New Hampshire-based Laborie Medical Technologies will make an upfront cash payment of $255 million to secure the deal. Milestone payments, based on Urotronic meeting financial targets, could add up to an additional $345 million to the transaction.

Urotronic's breakthrough product is Optilume, a drug-coated balloon that offers a minimally invasive treatment option for men suffering from urinary tract conditions.

Optilume was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2021. In June the FDA approved the Optilume BPH catheter system to treat enlarged prostate.

"There has never been a minimally invasive, combination drug-device therapy like Optilume before, leading to a highly disruptive, paradigm change for physicians treating urethral strictures and BPH [benign prostatic hyperplasia]," Laborie CEO Mike Frazzette said in a statement.

Laborie struck an exclusive licensing deal with Urotronic for the stricture product in January 2022.

"They paid $165 million for an exclusive global license to that," said Urotronic CEO Dave Perry.

Laborie also previously invested $15 million in Urotronic in 2020 when the companies forged a partnership agreement.

In 2018 Urotronic raised $20 million in a financing round where investors included Mayo Clinic.

Minneapolis-based Piper Sandler Cos. served as financial adviser to Urotronic in the Laborie deal. Perry said the acquisition expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Founded in 2014, Urotronic has 21 employees.

In connection with the deal, Laborie is also making a $5 million investment in GIE Medical, a Urotronic spinoff that is developing a drug-coated balloon for use in the gastrointestinal tract.

The Medical Alley network has tracked 15 deals so far this year where a Minnesota health care or medical company has been sold to an out-of-state entity. The largest of those was Abbott Laboratories' $850 million acquisition of New Brighton-based Cardiovascular Systems Inc.

Frank Jaskulke, Medical Alley's vice president of innovation, said that the Urotronic deal stands out because debt costs and market uncertainty have been reducing the volume of transactions during 2023.

"The device M&A has been down this year," said Jaskulke.

Christopher Barry, a previous CEO of Urotronic, pleaded guilty in 2017 to stealing trade secrets from a previous employer and bringing that confidential information to Urotronic. The company said it had no knowledge of Barry's actions and demanded his resignation after discovering what he had done.