Teleflex, a global provider of medical devices for critical care and surgery based in Limerick, Penn., has acquired Semprus BioSciences, a Cambridge, Mass.-based biomedical company and spin out from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for $30 million.

Teleflex may be required to make certain additional payments based upon the achievement of certain regulatory and revenue milestones over the next several years. The acquisition includes the core Semprus Sustain technology. The transaction brings to Teleflex an innovative and patented platform technology that serves as the basis for next-generation medical devices. The technology is designed to provide the benefits of reducing complications such as thrombosis and microbial adhesion over long durations.

Sustain technology is a long-lasting, covalently bonded, non-leaching polymer that is designed to reduce the attachment of platelets and blood proteins at the device surface.It has been shown to reduce thrombus accumulation in in vitro testing after multi-month exposure to blood and through in vivo animal testing. The technology characteristics mimic the chemical properties of endothelial cell membrane, reducing the foreign body response to an implanted device.

"We believe Semprus' novel technology provides distinct advantages over other surface and coating technologies currently on the market with its dual-functionality, ability to work in blood products and long-term duration,” said Benson Smith, chairman, president and CEO of Teleflex. “Furthermore, we are excited about the potential for a broad array of our products with this technology to reduce infection-and thrombus-related complications for patients, as well as the resulting substantial healthcare costs which often arise when medical devices are implanted in the body. Finally, with the recently 510(k) cleared antithrombogenic claims on our existing Arrow PICC with Chlorag+ard technology, which is a chlorhexidine-based coating, we feel Semprus' Sustain technology provides us a tremendous next generation platform for continued innovation."

The initial focus for the technology is its use in vascular device applications, and a Semprus Sustain technology coated peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) is currently pending 510(k) clearance from the FDA. Sustain technology is also pending CE Mark approval in Europe.