Cardiovascular Dynamics Inc.: The company, which is...

Cardiovascular Dynamics Inc.: The company, which is developing specialized catheters for angioplasty procedures, said that a major Minnesota medical company has bought a 19% stake in the company as part of a business alliance to spur the use of the new technology.

SciMed Life Systems Inc., based in a Minneapolis suburb, paid $5 million to $6 million to acquire its stake in Cardiovascular Dynamics and to obtain a license for certain of the company’s balloon angioplasty catheters that also deliver drugs to affected areas of the heart.

The drugs are aimed at preventing early recurrences of heart conditions that require angioplasty treatment. SciMed is one of the leading angioplasty companies, but Irvine-based Cardiovascular Dynamics has two patents for catheters that handle both balloon angioplasty and drug delivery systems.

The proceeds from the sale of the stock will be used to develop Cardiovascular Dynamics’s technology further, said Chairman Michael Henson. The catheters are used in a number of foreign countries, including Japan, and are in clinical testing in the United States.

The remaining majority interest in Cardiovascular Dynamics continues to be owned by Endosonics Corp. in Pleasanton.