Stryker recently announced an agreement to acquire SafeAir AG, a Swiss surgical smoke evacuation company.  The acquisition will likely close by the end of 2018.

According to its website, SafeAir specializes in smoke evacuating diathermy pencil products.  Diathermy pencils are used in electrosurgical procedures such as cauterization.  Such procedures generate smoke, and SafeAir’s Smoke Pencil products have an integrated smoke evacuation function to remove such surgical smoke from its source.

Timothy J. Scannell, Group President of MedSurg and Neurotechnology at Stryker, sees value in the acquisition, stating that:

The acquisition of SafeAir AG is highly complementary to the Surgical business of Stryker’s Instruments division , and strengthens our smoke evacuation portfolio in both the U.S. and Europe.

Regarding how this acquisition fits into Stryker’s medical device portfolio, Mr. Scannell went on to report:

This acquisition aligns with Stryker’s focus of providing solutions that result in a higher quality of care and level of safety for both healthcare professionals and patients.

Stryker’s forthcoming acquisition may indicate the company’s understanding of the growing smoke evacuation system market that is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% and reach $180M within 18 months.