Given Imaging Acquires SmartPill

Given Imaging has acquired from The SmartPill Corporation, a U.S. based-company, for $6 million. The SmartPill® is an ingestible capsule that uses sensor technology to measure pH, pressure and temperature in the GI tract. The SmartPill System measures gastric emptying and total GI (stomach, small bowel and colon) transit times and is used to evaluate motility disorders like gastroparesis and constipation.

“SmartPill is an excellent strategic fit with Given Imaging’s proprietary technology and extensive portfolio of GI diagnostic tools,” said Homi Shamir president and CEO of Given Imaging.

The SmartPill is cleared by the FDA and CE marked for the evaluation of gastroparesis and constipation, and has an existing CPT code. A category 1 CPT code specifically and exclusively for the SmartPill procedure goes into effect in January, 2013. Given Imaging plans to invest in market development activities designed to expand the body of clinical evidence for and awareness of SmartPill.

Administered in the physician’s office, the SmartPill is completely ambulatory and allows the patient to go about their normal routine during the course of the test. As the SmartPill capsule passes through the GI tract, it transmits data to a recorder worn by the patient. The SmartPill capsule moves through the intestines by peristalsis, or the normal rhythmic contraction of the intestinal muscles, and is capable of transmitting data continuously for at least five days. The single-use, non-imaging capsule is excreted naturally from the body, usually within a day or two. Once the capsule has passed from the body, the patient returns the data recorder to the physician, who then can download the collected data to a computer. The physician then uses SmartPill’s MotiliGI™ software to display and analyze the data, providing the physician with test results in both graphical and report formats.