CR Bard Buys Neonatal Device Company Neomed

C. R. Bard Inc. has agreed to acquire Neomed Inc, a developer and supplier of sprayable surgical sealants and anti-adhesion products. The deal is valued at $140 million, which will be paid at closing and future contingent payments up to an additional $25 million based on specific revenue-based milestones through 2016. The transaction is structured as a merger, and Neomed will add to the surgical specialties of Davol Inc., a subsidiary of Bard.

Neomend markets the Progel air leak sealant, the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved product available for intraoperative sealing of air leaks following lung resection. Progel also has a CE mark for lung sealing and as an anti-adhesion barrier. According to the company, the technology has a pipeline of potential future clinical indications that are designed to reduce costly post-operative complications across a variety of surgical specialties. The existing global market for surgical sealants and adhesion barrier products is over $1 billion, and this acquisition will allow Bard to enter the market.

Air leaks are one of the most common complications following lung surgery and they can lead to prolonged hospitalization. Clinical results show a significant reduction in post-operative air leaks and inpatient length of stay with Progel pleural air leak sealant, claims Neomed. Lung surgery is most commonly used as part of treatment for cancer that is confined to the chest. Worldwide, there are approximately 1.6 million new cases of lung cancer reported each year. In the United States, 373,489 Americans are living with lung cancer and during 2012, an estimated 226,160 new cases of lung cancer were expected to be diagnosed, representing almost 14 percent of all cancer diagnoses. Approximately 220,000 lung surgeries are performed annually in the United States.

“With its unique and proprietary technology, Neomend is the market leader in thoracic sealing,” said Timothy M. Ring, Bard’s chairman and CEO. “This merger represents a great strategic fit for us as this technology platform is an important building block for our surgical specialty product offering and is synergistic with our call point and global reach.”

Based in Murray Hill, N.J., C.R. Bard designs, manufactures and markets devices in the vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialty spaces.

Neomed Inc. is headquartered in Medina, Ohio. The company produces a variety of neonatal products, including catheters, syringes, and surgical devices.

Davol Inc. provides surgical devices for irrigation, hernia repair, autotransfusion and hemostasis. The company is based in Warwick, R.I.