Haemonetics, global healthcare company focused on blood management solutions, has decided to acquire the business assets of Hemerus Medical, a Minn.-based company that develops innovative technologies for the collection of whole blood and the processing and storage of blood components. 

Haemonetics will pay up to $27 million in several stages, each of which is contingent upon successful regulatory approvals of SOLX, Hemerus’ patented whole blood collection system. Additionally, Haemonetics has agreed to pay a royalty on future sales of SOLX based products. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

SOLX has completed phase 3 clinical trials and Hemerus has submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA, with expected approval in later in 2012. This system's features include a collection set and a storage solution that is believed to considerably extend the quality and effective life of red blood cells. The storage solution is the result of research partially funded by the US Army, and invented by Dr. John Hess of the University of Maryland, and the late Dr. Tibor Greenwalt of the University of Cincinnati.  Hemerus holds the exclusive worldwide license to the intellectual property and furthered this research through the development of a whole blood collection set and clinical trials.

Haemonetics' current broad product offering includes automated blood collection and separation technologies for the red blood cell collection process. Hemerus' capabilities are expected to enable Haemonetics to accelerate its entry into the whole blood collection market with differentiated offerings.

"Hemerus' capabilities complement our planned entry into the whole blood collection market with our differentiated products designed to bring greater efficiency and productivity to whole blood collection and processing,” said Brian Concannon, president and CEO of Haemonetics. “This is a market that is strategically important with more than 60 million collection procedures annually. Delivery of a superior blood storage solution offers both medical and economic benefits to our blood center and hospital customers and is important to our leadership position in blood management."