STOCKHOLM, Sweden, August 26, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Vitrolife AB announced today that it has completed the sale of two of its subsidiaries, A-Life Ltd and A-Life Inc, to Mentor Corporation, a global medical device company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mentor will pay Vitrolife 7 million USD in cash for A-Life Ltd., and A- Life Inc plus undisclosed royalties on Hyalite(TM) and future products developed using the companies' proprietary technology. The royalty payments will start after accumulated sales have reached 40 million USD. The sales of this operation concludes the refocusing of Vitrolife which remaining operation now entirely consists of its former core business, liquid media for the preservation of living tissue and cells outside the body.
A-Life Ltd. has manufacturing and R&D facilities in Edinburgh, Scotland. A-Life Inc., is located in Newport Beach, California, and has focused on preparations for clinical development of products in the USA. The companies have developed proprietary technology for making products based on cross-linked hyaluronic acid. The first such product is Hyalite(TM), an injectable soft tissue filler made for aesthetic applications. Hyalite(TM) has successfully completed clinical trials in Europe for the treatment of facial lines, depressions and wrinkles. The company is preparing its application for CE certification and preparations for a U.S. clinical study are underway. The companies currently have no sales.
"We believe Mentor Corp is the ideal company to successfully bring Hyalite(TM) to the market," said Magnus Nilsson, CEO of Vitrolife. "We are very optimistic about the market for injectable soft tissue fillers and other applications of A-Life's technology. However, Vitrolife has focused its marketing efforts on its core business, media for cells and tissue, and does not have the global marketing reach in the aesthetic surgery market to support the successful introduction of such products. We are very satisfied with this transaction which strengthens Vitrolife's balance sheet, reduces our costs with approximately SEK 4m per quarter, and gives Vitrolife the potential of future royalty payments from Hyalite(TM) and other products developed using the double cross-linking technology developed by A-Life."
"We are very pleased with this acquisition," said Chris Conway, president of Mentor. "Hyalite(TM) fits Mentor's strategy of leadership in product technology. Hyalite(TM) is the next generation HA product. This product is complementary with Mentor's other aesthetic products and the combination will strengthen our market position throughout the world."
Vitrolife AB (publ)
Vitrolife is a global biomedical corporation that works with products for cell and tissue technology. The Vitrolife group consists of the parent company, Vitrolife AB (Publ) and two wholly owned subsidiaries: Vitrolife Sweden AB (Gothenburg, Sweden), Vitrolife Inc. (Denver, Colorado), A-Life Ltd. The group's operations focused on three geographic areas.
* Europe/Middle East * The Americas * Rest of the World
Vitrolife's business concept is to develop, produce and sell advanced products and systems for the preparation, cultivation, preservation and support of cells, tissues and organs.
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net
The following files are available for download:
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/08/26/20030826BIT00230/wkr0001.doc
http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/08/26/20030826BIT00230/wkr0002.pdf