Medtronic is tightening its grip on the global heart-tech game, saying it will exercise its option to acquire CathWorks, an Israel-based maker of an AI-powered, noninvasive coronary diagnostic system, in a deal valued at up to $585 million. The buy would tuck CathWorks' FFRangio software, which estimates fractional flow reserve from routine angiograms, into Medtronic's growing cath-lab lineup. For Twin Cities insiders, it is one more sign that big-ticket cardiac innovation keeps orbiting around Medtronic's Minneapolis hub.
Deal details and timing
In its announcement, Medtronic said it plans to move forward with the CathWorks acquisition in a transaction valued at up to $585 million, with additional undisclosed earn-outs on the table. The company added that it expects the deal to close by the end of Medtronic's fiscal year 2026, pending standard regulatory reviews that include clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, according to Medtronic.
How the technology works
The CathWorks FFRangio System uses artificial intelligence combined with computational modeling to calculate fractional flow reserve values across the entire coronary tree using standard angiograms, so clinicians can skip pressure wires and drug-induced hyperemia, per CathWorks. A pooled analysis reported that angiogram-derived FFR technologies such as FFRangio achieve high diagnostic accuracy compared with wire-based FFR, with both sensitivity and specificity in the 90 percent range, according to JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.
What it means for the Twin Cities
Because Medtronic already runs major U.S. operations out of the Twin Cities, the company has a ready-made base for plugging CathWorks' software into its global sales, training, and support channels, according to Medtronic. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal cast the deal as a logical next step in Medtronic's push to bulk up its cath-lab presence while continuing to channel investment into locally anchored cardiac technologies, per Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Regulatory and industry context
The planned acquisition will go through regulatory scrutiny before it can close, and Medtronic is still targeting completion by the end of its 2026 fiscal year. This latest step follows a 2022 co-promotion and option agreement that included an initial Medtronic investment in CathWorks and laid out a path toward a full buyout, according to MedTech Dive.
Clinical case for noninvasive FFR
Fractional flow reserve has become a key evidence-backed tool for deciding when to deploy stents or other treatments for coronary blockages. In the FAME 2 trial, physiology-guided PCI was shown to reduce the need for urgent revascularization in selected patients, according to NEJM. Systematic reviews of angiography-derived FFR report pooled sensitivity and specificity that support the clinical performance of these software tools, suggesting they could extend physiologic assessment to more patients without adding extra invasive steps, per a meta-analysis in PubMed.
What to watch next
“We are thrilled to have CathWorks officially become part of the Medtronic family,” CathWorks president and CEO Ramin Mousavi said in the joint announcement. For now, both companies say they will keep running independently until the deal closes, and they plan to share updates as the regulatory process moves forward, according to PR Newswire.
