Intact Vascular

Intact Vascular, established in 2011, is a medical device company that now operates as part of Philips following a significant acquisition. The company was co-founded by endovascular surgeon Dr. Peter Schneider and Carol Burns, who brought their combined expertise to address a critical need in vascular medicine. Their focus was on developing minimally invasive solutions for peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition affecting millions worldwide where plaque buildup restricts blood flow in the limbs.

The company's landmark product is the Tack Endovascular System®, a first-of-its-kind implantable device designed for the precision repair of arterial dissections, which are tears that can occur in the vessel lining following a balloon angioplasty procedure. Unlike traditional stents that cover a larger area and leave behind more metal, the Tack system allows for targeted, spot treatment with minimal foreign material, which helps to reduce inflammation and preserve future treatment options for the patient. The system is delivered via a catheter pre-loaded with multiple self-expanding nitinol tacks, enabling surgeons to repair multiple dissections with a single device.

Intact Vascular achieved major milestones with the FDA approval of its Tack system, first for above-the-knee interventions and subsequently for below-the-knee applications, marking a significant advance in treating patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). The approvals were supported by positive data from pivotal clinical trials like TOBA II and TOBA II BTK, which demonstrated the system's safety and effectiveness in resolving dissections and maintaining vessel patency. In August 2020, Royal Philips announced its acquisition of Intact Vascular for an upfront cash consideration of $275 million, with an additional $85 million in deferred payments, integrating Intact's specialized technology into Philips' extensive image-guided therapy portfolio.

Keywords: peripheral artery disease, dissection repair, Tack Endovascular System, medical device, balloon angioplasty, minimal metal implant, vascular intervention, critical limb ischemia, Philips acquisition, endovascular