Teleflex (NYSE:TFX) agreed to pay $30 million in cash and possibly another $50 million in milestone payments for Semprus BioSciences, according to sources familiar with the deal who are not authorized to speak on the record.
The deal for the Cambridge, Mass.-based medical device coatings maker closed about a month ago, the sources told MassDevice.com.
Semprus CEO David Lucchino could not be reached for comment. Representatives from Teleflex did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Founded in 2007, Semprus developed anti-microbial technology it calls Sustain, which Lucchino described to MassDevice.com last year as a "physical extension" of the device’s material, rather than calling it a coating.
The Sustain technology does "coat" medical devices, but instead of being "attached to [the device’s] surface in a temporary fashion," Sustain is grown from the material itself. The atoms comprising the material’s polymers are covalently bonded to the material comprising the medical device.
The Semprus team, led by Lucchino, will continue to run the business, which will stay in Cambridge. The deal includes the right for Teleflex to license the Sustain technology to third parties, meaning it has a large potential pool of applications, according to the people familiar with the deal.
Last year Semprus pulled in an $18 million Series B funding round. GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK)’s venture capital arm, SR One, and Foundation Medical Partners co-led the round. Prior backers 5AM Ventures and Pangaea Ventures also joined the round, which brought Semprus’ total equity financing to $28.5 million.
