Disposal of Polymer Coatings Business to Bayer
London, UK, 17 November 2009 – Lombard Medical Technologies PLC (AIM: LMT), the specialist medical device company, announces that it has today entered into a conditional agreement (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, PolyBioMed Limited (“PBM”) will sell its polymer coatings business for a total of £1.0m in cash. This business, which made a net loss of £356,000 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, PBM will sell the goodwill, contractual rights and intellectual property of its polymer coatings business to Bayer MaterialScience AG (“BMS”) with the remaining assets to be sold to Bayer Plc. Completion of the Agreement is conditional upon the successful novation of various key contractual arrangements to BMS and satisfactory leasehold arrangements being entered into between BMS and PBM’s landlord. Completion is expected to occur within the next few weeks.
On completion, the employees of PBM will be transferred to Bayer Plc and PBM will receive cash consideration of £1.0m. The proceeds are intended to contribute towards funding the Company’s ongoing US clinical trial of its lead product Aorfix™.
This divestment is part of Lombard Medical’s strategy to focus its resources on Aorfix™, its unique endovascular stent graft for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms.
John Rush, CEO of Lombard Medical, commented:
“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.”
Enquiries:
Lombard Medical Technologies PLC Tel: 01235 750 800
Simon Neathercoat, Non-executive Chairman
John Rush, Chief Executive Officer
Tim Hall, Finance Director
Financial Dynamics Tel: 020 7831 3113
Jonathan Birt / Susan Quigley
Nomura Code Tel: 020 7776 1200
Juliet Thompson / Richard Potts
Notes to editors
About Lombard Medical
Lombard Medical Technologies PLC is a medical devices group developing stent grafts and other medical products for use in the treatment of vascular disease. The Company’s lead product, Aorfix™, is an endovascular stent graft for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), a balloon-like enlargement of the aorta which, if untreated, may rupture and cause death. Approximately 4.5 million people are living with AAA in the developed world and each year 600,000 new cases are diagnosed. The market for endovascular stent grafts for the treatment of AAA is currently worth over $800 million and is expected to grow to around $1.6 billion by 2015. Aorfix™ is currently being commercialised in the EU, with a pivotal clinical trial ongoing in the USA.
The Company is headquartered in Oxfordshire, with operations in Yorkshire, Ayrshire and Boston, USA.
Further background on the Company can be found at www.lombardmedical.com.