Abbott Laboratories (ABT) continued its recent acquisition streak on Thursday by announcing plans to spend up to $410 million on privately held Evalve Inc., a move that injects Abbott into a potentially big and fast-growing market for fixing heart valves without major surgery.

Evalve makes a product used to repair the heart's mitral valve, which separates the left-side chambers and frequently develops a problem in which it doesn't close properly. The catheter-based Evalve system gained European approval in 2008 and has had "modest" sales thus far, but Abbott expects peak-year sales of several hundred million dollars over time, spokesman Jonathon Hamilton said.

Evalve is engaged in a pivotal trial aimed at gathering evidence to help gain U.S. approval, which Abbott expects in 2011.

Abbott will pay $320 million in cash initially, with regulatory milestones potentially bringing the total up to $410 million. Abbott, which already owns about 10% of Evalve's stock, said the deal won't change its guidance for 2009 earnings.

The transaction is seen closing in the fourth quarter.

Abbott has recently been snapping up companies in smaller-scale deals, although in total it's announced nearly $1 billion in planned acquisitions in the last couple of months. Other other deals include the purchase of Indian nutrition business Wockhardt Ltd. (532300.BY) and a $400 million deal to buy vision company Visiogen Inc.

The latest deal establishes Abbott in the nascent market for heart valves that can be repaired or replaced through lower-impact surgery, rather than traditional open-heart procedures. Many older patients have faulty valves but can't withstand the rigors of full surgery.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) is a big player in the burgeoning market for replacing aortic valves - another key heart valve that often has problems - via catheters. Medtronic Inc. (MDT) bought its way into that market in February, and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ) have also expressed interest in so-called transcatheter valves.

The Evalve product, called the MitraClip system, is used to clip the leaflets of the mitral valve together to reduce regurgitation that occurs from the inability to close properly. While a longer-term opportunity than the already established aortic valve market that has attracted other heart-device companies, Abbott sees potential for mitral-valve repair to eventually be worth several billion dollars.

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; jon.kamp@dowjones.com

(Jay Miller and Kathy Shwiff contributed to this report.)