VenPro Sells Contegra Line to Medtronic

VenPro Corp., an early-stage Irvine company developing bioprosthetic implants to treat venous disease, said Friday it has sold its Contegra Pulmonary Valved Conduit product line to Medtronic Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Medtronic, which has distributed the product line in Europe since late 1999, said it made the purchase to broaden its portfolio of heart valve products.

The pulmonary-valved conduit will be the first product in Medtronic’s heart valve portfolio intended primarily for use in children. Medtronic said the valve is designed to satisfy the need for a more readily available conduit to correct congenital defects on the right side of the heart, namely an absent or underdeveloped pulmonary valve.

Medtronic, a medical technology company based in Minneapolis, said Contegra is currently an investigational device in the U.S. and isn’t available for sale. A spokeswoman for Medtronic didn’t know when the device would become available in the U.S.