Millipede

About Millipede

Millipede, Inc. operated as a medical device company focused on addressing severe mitral regurgitation (MR), a condition where the heart's mitral valve fails to close properly. The company was founded in August 2012 by Dr. Steven F. Bolling, a cardiac surgeon at the University of Michigan, and the venture capital firm Santé Ventures. Dr. Bolling, a recognized expert in mitral valve surgery with a career spanning over four decades, provided the clinical and innovative foundation for the company, drawing from his extensive experience in mitral valve repair. Randy Lashinski, who had a significant background in founding and leading structural heart device companies like Claret Medical and Direct Flow Medical, joined as CEO in 2013 and co-founder, guiding the company's strategic direction and product development.

The company's core business revolved around the development and eventual commercialization of the IRIS Transcatheter Annuloplasty Ring System. This system was designed to provide a minimally invasive treatment for patients with severe MR, particularly those considered too high-risk for traditional open-heart surgery. The IRIS system aimed to replicate the gold-standard surgical approach by implanting a complete, semi-rigid annuloplasty ring to reshape and reduce the size of a dilated mitral annulus. The device, made of a nitinol alloy, was delivered via a catheter through the femoral vein and across the septum of the heart, avoiding major surgery. A key feature of the IRIS ring was its adjustability, repositionability, and retrievability during the implantation procedure, allowing surgeons to customize the fit to the patient's specific anatomy.

Millipede's business model was centered on achieving clinical validation and then securing a strategic exit through acquisition by a larger medical technology firm. This strategy proved successful in January 2018 when Boston Scientific made an initial investment of $90 million. The agreement included an option for Boston Scientific to fully acquire Millipede upon the successful completion of a first-in-human clinical study. Following positive early clinical results, Boston Scientific exercised this option in December 2018, acquiring the remaining shares of Millipede for $325 million, with a potential for an additional $125 million milestone payment. The acquisition, which closed in the first quarter of 2019, integrated the IRIS system into Boston Scientific's structural heart portfolio, targeting a transcatheter mitral repair and replacement market estimated to reach $1 billion by 2021.