Advanced Medical will pay an initial consideration of $25m in cash, to be funded from existing cash resources, which were £71m at 30 June 2018.
In addition,thecompany will pay royalties, in-line with market rates, on future sales of existing products in development until the end of 2027.
Sealantis is an Israeli-based company that holds patents for alga-mimetic sealants technology and is in the development of a wide range of surgical indications. It has two surgical sealant products Seal-G and Seal-G MIST.
Seal-G is an open surgery device which has received CE Mark and is used for reinforcement of the staple/suture line to minimise anastomotic leaks following gastrointestinal surgery.
The second product is claimed to be an equivalent laparoscopic device for the same indication but performed through keyhole surgery.
The acquisition is expected to bring onboard AMS with technology platform and delivery systems that can have a significant potential across a range of applications in internal surgery market, which includes the $1bn internal sealant market. These include the existing CE marked product to reinforce and protect gastrointestinal anastomoses, of which there are more than 6 million procedures performed annually worldwide, with additional significant potential in neuro, orthopaedic, and cardiovascular surgery indications.
Sealantis’ technology platform has several synergies with AMS, mostly with sales, marketing, regulatory and operational areas. The acquisition will strengthen AMS’ product portfolio in internal sealants and fixation devices.
The devices will be sold alongside AMS’s LiquiBandFix8 laparoscopic and LiquiBandFix8 open fixation devices.
Adding Sealantis products and indications is expected to open up much larger parts of surgery market for AMS for commercial exploitation.
AMS CEO Chris Meredith said: “This acquisition is in line with our strategy to acquire technologies that are complementary to our surgical portfolio as well as allowing us to leverage our global routes to market. The acquisition enhances our access to a significant and high-margin market in internal surgery, which includes areas of unmet need for effective and absorbable internal sealants, a market estimated at $1 billion.
“We are particularly excited to welcome Sealantis’ innovation team of R&D experts to AMS and look forward to working alongside them to develop the technology in a wide range of potential applications and indications. As we work towards the commercialisation of Seal-G Surgical Sealant over the next 18 months, we expect to maximise the full value of the platform and this innovative technology. AMS continues to actively monitor and evaluate other acquisition opportunities to capitalise on its strong financial and strategic position.”
