BioCity firm sold in £28m deal

BioCity-based life sciences firm Haemostatix has been sold to Ergomed in a deal which could be worth up to £28m.

Ergomed is acquiring Haemostatix for an initial £8m with contingent consideration of a further £20m from a group of UK-based VC investors including Albion Ventures, Catapult Ventures, Esperante, as well as NESTA and the Wellcome Trust.

Haemostatix was co-founded in 2003 by Sarah Middleton and Professor Alison Goodall as a spin-out from the University of Leicester. The Nottingham firm is developing first-in-class topical blood clotting agents. Its technology is based on a novel class of molecule that binds directly to fibrinogen to promote haemostasis and is targeted at the global surgical bleeding market, worth more than $2bn.

Miroslav Reljanovic, CEO of Ergomed, said: “The Haemostatix acquisition provides an opportunity to advance the Co-development part of our growth strategy through the development of our first wholly-owned development programme.

“We have confidence from the current pre-clinical and clinical data that the Haemostatix technology works as an effective haemostat. This, combined with the rapid development and attractive market size, means the acquisition offers great upside potential for Ergomed.

“Ergomed intends to continue building a sustainable and profitable hybrid business model through bolt on acquisitions and growth opportunities in its Services business as well as progressing its Co-development pipeline.”

Jonathan Lowe, head of investor relations at Catapult Ventures said: “Haemostatix has a world-class team and technology and we are excited that it now has a strong corporate partner who will support it in the future development process. We wish the team the best of luck and look forward to seeing the business fulfil its huge potential.”

JSB-Partners acted as an advisor to Haemostatix.