Lombard Medical Technologies to Sell Coatings Subsidiary to Bayer MaterialScience

Lombard Medical Technologies’ wholly owned subsidiary, PolyBioMed Ltd., has agreed to sell the polymer coatings business to Bayer MaterialScience AG for more than $1 million, according to the Oxfordshire, London, firm.

The acquisition gives Leverkusen, Germany-based Bayer MaterialScience access to areas such as coronary drug-eluting stents and catheter systems for interventional cardiology, urology and neurology. The company is looking forward to PolyBioMed’s technologies to offer an extended portfolio of permanent and biodegradable surface modification techniques, it said in a statement.

PolyBioMed, headquartered in Sheffield, United Kingdom, which had a net loss of about $60,000 in 2008, develops drug-eluting coatings for coronary stents, as well as hydrophilic surface treatments and lubricious coatings to reduce friction on cardiovascular and urinary catheters respectively.

Under the terms of the agreement, PolyBioMed will sell the contractual rights and intellectual property of its polymer coatings business to Bayer MaterialScience AG, with the remaining assets to be sold to Bayer Plc.

“This acquisition complements our existing portfolio of coatings technologies for the medical device industry and offers us a significant foothold in this large and growing segment. We will be investing further in coatings application andtesting facilities which will significantly expand our services to customers,” said Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Engels, senior vice president of coatings, adhesives and specialties of Bayer MaterialScience.

John Rush, CEO of Lombard Medical, said: “This disposal will further focus the company’s business and the proceeds to be received on completion will usefully reduce the company’s funding requirement.” This divestment is part of Lombard Medical’s strategy to focus its resources on Aorfix, a endovascular stent graft for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms.