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(Alliance News) - Smith & Nephew PLC on Wednesday said it will pay to USD330 million to acquire an Israeli sports medicine technology firm that specialises in knee repair.
The Watford, England-based medical devices maker said it will buy CartiHeal, developer of Agili-C, a treatment that promotes natural regeneration of cartilage and restoration of underlying bone.
CartiHeal was founded in 2009 as a university spin-out. It has a facility in Tel Aviv and a sales offer in the US state of New Jersey.
S&N will pay USD180 million in cash initially, with a further USD150 million contingent on financial performance.
CartiHeal will be added to S&N's Sports Medicine division.
Agili-C is an off-the-shelf one-step treatment for osteochondral - bone and cartilage - lesions. It was granted breakthrough device designation by the US Food & Drug Administration in 2020 and premarket approval in 2022.
S&N said the acquisition is expected to complete in the first quarter of next year. CartiHeal is targeted to be breakeven on trading profit by 2027.
"Agili-C's superior clinical performance makes it highly complementary to our existing knee repair portfolio," said S&N Chief Executive Officer Deepak Nath, "and with our proven commercial expertise in high-growth biologics, we are confident that we will drive further success with this compelling treatment option."
S&N shares were up 0.2% at 1,024.00 pence early Wednesday in London, in line with the wider FTSE 100 index.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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