Sanofi has entered into an agreement with Pluromed to acquire the medical device company based in Woburn, Mass.

Through the acquisition, Sanofi will pick up Pluromed’s proprietary polymer technology, Rapid Transition Polymers (RTP), which pioneers the use of injectable plugs to improve the safety, efficacy and economics of medical interventions. Sanofi will commercialize LeGoo, one of Pluromed’s RTPs, for use during surgical procedures. FDA approved and CE marked, 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.

"The acquisition of Pluromed underscores Sanofi's commitment to strengthen its biosurgery portfolio," said Alison Lawton, senior vice president and general manager, Sanofi Biosurgery. "LeGoo is a breakthrough technology with the potential to change the paradigm of vascular and cardiovascular surgical procedures, by providing fast, temporary control of blood flow while avoiding vessel trauma associated with standard of care."

"LeGoo represents a major advancement in surgical technology because of its ability to control bleeding without clamps or snares that can injure delicate blood vessels," added Dr. William E. Cohn, director, minimally invasive surgical technology, Texas Heart Institute in Houston. "I believe this technology will be widely adopted in cardiovascular surgery and perhaps in other fields in the future."  

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.