Date: 2012-03-16
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: Pluromed (USA)
Acquiring company: Sanofi (France)
Amount: undisclosed
Terms: Sanofi and Pluromed have entered into a definitive agreement under which Sanofi is to acquire Pluromed Inc., a medical device company based in Woburn, Massachusetts. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.
Details: Pluromed has developed a proprietary polymer technology, called Rapid Transition Polymers (RTP™), pioneering the use of injectable plugs to improve the safety, efficacy and economics of medical interventions. Sanofi will commercialize Pluromed’s LeGoo®, a highly innovative FDA approved and CE marked gel for temporary endovascular occlusion of blood vessels during surgical procedures.
LeGoo® is a thermo-sensitive biocompatible and non-toxic liquid gel that forms a plug when injected into a blood vessel to temporarily stop blood flow. The plug dissolves rapidly via cooling or spontaneously after several minutes. Once dissolved, the plug cannot reform because the concentration is too low. In a prospective, randomized study, LeGoo® has been shown to provide better operating conditions than conventional occlusion techniques, by limiting blood flow into a surgical field without causing damage to the vessels. The study also showed a reduction in the time required to perform an anastomosis for beating heart surgery when using LeGoo®.
This acquisition reflects Sanofi’s commitment to bring innovative solutions designed to ease surgical procedures and improve patient outcomes. Its business unit Sanofi Biosurgery develops and markets innovative, biologically based products for osteoarthritis relief, adhesion prevention, cartilage repair, and severe burn treatment. Sanofi Biosurgery’s products include: Synvisc®, Synvisc-One™ (hylan G-F 20), Carticel® (autologous cultured chondrocytes), MACI® (Matrix-induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation), Seprafilm® and Epicel® (cultured epidermal autografts).
Related: Biosurgery
