St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) says it has acquired Endosense (Geneva, Switzerland), a private company that has pioneered contact-force measurement in catheter ablation. St. Jude said it made an initial payment of about CHF 159 million ($170 million) and acquired 100% of the outstanding equity of Endosense. The company also has agreed to pay up to CHF 150 million ($161 million), in cash milestone payments, contingent upon both the achievement and timing of a regulatory milestone. This brings the potential total of the deal up to $331 million.