The deal gives Medtronic the exclusive right to acquire Half Moon Medical, a start-up developing a mitral valve repair system to compete with Abbott’s MitraClip.

The new indication covers functional mitral regurgitation, also known as secondary mitral regurgitation, which represents two-to-three times as many patients as the primary mitral regurgitation population MitraClip is already labeled for. The approval is supported by results from the COAPT trial, the first randomized trial to show that a mitral-valve repair could improve outcomes in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation.

Abbott has exercised an option to buy Cephea Valve Technologies, developer of a minimally-invasive replacement heart valve, for an undisclosed sum.

This month we profile CoolSpine and its catheter-based hypothermia device, Inseal Medical and its large-bore vascular closure device, and MitrAssist Medical, which is developing a valve-in-valve approach to treating mitral regurgitation.