BD to acquire Edwards Lifesciences’ Critical Care product group

Medical device maker Becton Dickinson (BD) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Critical Care product group from Edwards Lifesciences, a global leader in advanced monitoring solutions, for US$4.2 billion in cash.

Critical Care is a high-growth industry leader in advanced patient monitoring with advanced AI algorithms. In a news release, BD officials said that Critical Care invented the hemodynamic monitoring category, and its products currently are used in more than 10,000 hospitals globally to help increase outcomes in real time in critically ill patients with cardiovascular conditions.

Critical Care has approximately 4,500 employees, most of whom are based in Irvine, Calif. Going forward, the firm will continue to operate out of Irvine as a separate business unit within the BD Medical segment, and will be led by Katie Szyman, the corporate vice president of Critical Care at Edwards.

“Critical Care expands BD’s portfolio of smart connected care solutions with its growing set of leading monitoring technologies, advanced AI-enabled clinical decision tools and robust innovation pipeline that complement BD’s existing technologies serving operating rooms and intensive care units,” BD CEO Tom Polen said in the release. “We believe the combination unlocks multiple new avenues for growth and value creation through BD’s broad global footprint, increased penetration across new and existing hospital customers, new innovation opportunities across data sets and platforms, and application of the BD Excellence operating system.”

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024.

Headquartered in Franklin Lakes, N.J., BD is said to be one of the largest medical technology companies in the world.