Oticon Medical would like to inform you about an adjusted agreement between Demant A/S (parent company of Oticon Medical) and Cochlear Ltd.
Cochlear intends to buy the Oticon Medical cochlear implant (Neuro system) business but not the Oticon Medical Bone-Conduction (Ponto system) business.
On June 22nd, Demant A/S and Cochlear Ltd have communicated an adjusted transaction, where only the Oticon Medical Cochlear Implant business will change ownership. Consequently, the Oticon Medical Ponto (and future Sentio) systems will not be acquired by Cochlear Ltd. The adjusted transaction is now expected to be finalised before the end of 2023.
Background
As you may know, Cochlear Ltd – a hearing implant manufacturer based in Australia – originally intended to acquire the entire Oticon Medical business. Competition authorities in different jurisdictions need to approve an acquisition like this. On June 22nd, 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final report concluding that Oticon Medical BAHS needs to stay separate from Cochlear as CMA found that a full merger could reduce innovation and quality in the industry. Both Demant A/S and Cochlear Ltd have therefore announced that they intend to move ahead with the adjusted agreement. However, it is subject to final regulatory approvals and oversight of the separation of the CI and BAHS businesses by the CMA, along with regulatory approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the European Commission (EC).
What does this mean for patients implanted with an Oticon Medical cochlear implant system?
For now, nothing changes for Oticon Medical cochlear implant products nor for the Oticon Medical representatives and support that you know and interact with. Continued warranties and services will be provided to clinics and the cochlear implant products. Please continue to contact your clinic, or Oticon Medical representative and customer service as you have always done. We will be sure to be in contact before anything changes in this respect.
Going forward, Oticon Medical will ensure a seamless transition of the cochlear implant business and Cochlear Ltd remains committed to servicing Oticon Medical’s existing cochlear implant patients in the future. This means life-long support for patients.
What does this mean for Ponto?
In short, nothing. At Oticon Medical we guarantee continued development and support of both Ponto and Sentio. Your Oticon Medical bone conduction team remains fully committed to serving you and all your bone conduction patients. The Ponto system continues to provide choice for your patient. The system is industry leading with proven and excellent hearing outcomes. We have a world class customer service team at your disposal. Oticon Medical has an exciting pipeline with our active transcutaneous Sentio system planned for global release in 2024, and more new innovations upcoming in 2025.
A warm ‘thank you’ and looking forward to a continued collaboration
We would like to thank customers and patients for unwavering support of our team and our products, and look forward to our continued partnership. We value our close collaboration and the trust you have placed in us. We remain at your service and continue to do our utmost to support you. Please contact your Oticon Medical representative in case of any questions.
René Govaerts
President, Oticon Medical