MiMedx to acquire Surgical Biologics

MiMedx Group, Inc.Dec 22 2010

MiMedx Group, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MDXG), an integrated developer, manufacturer and marketer of patent protected biomaterial-based products, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Surgical Biologics, a leader in the development of tissue processing techniques for creating implants for a variety of surgical indications from amnion membranes.

Privately held Surgical Biologics was founded in early 2006 and is headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia. In its five year history, Surgical Biologics has established its reputation as a pioneer in the development of the latest advances in processing amniotic membrane tissues that provide safe, reliable and effective implants. Through Purion®, its proprietary tissue processing technology which produces an implant that is minimally manipulated, Surgical Biologics has differentiated itself, and its tissues are in over 30,000 implants. The Purion® process follows strict guidelines for allograft processing established by the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and the American Association of Tissue Banks ("AATB").

The human amniotic membrane comprises the innermost layer of the placenta, and lines the amniotic cavity. The amniotic tissue processed by Surgical Biologics is donated by mothers who have scheduled Cesarean sections. Each donor is screened and tested in accordance with FDA regulations and AATB standards.

Parker H. "Pete" Petit, MiMedx Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We welcome Surgical Biologics and its founders, John Daniel and Randall Spencer, to our organization. John and Randall are well known in the area of tissue processing, and they bring extensive expertise and experience to MiMedx Group. They will be key members of our management team. We are excited about the benefits we will attain through the combination of the assets of both organizations, and we look forward to combining the MiMedx talent with the talents of John, Randall and their colleagues at Surgical Biologics. In effect, this will give us a third innovative biomaterial."

"We will now have three very exciting biomaterial platforms to offer to physicians and our distribution networks," said Bill Taylor, President and Chief Operating Officer of MiMedx. "Adding Surgical Biologics is a synergistic fit for the areas of medical care that MiMedx is addressing. For example, our HydroFix™ Vaso Shield product is a permanent and biocompatible vessel cover. We believe there are applications using the Purion® tissue allograft as a resorbable vessel cover. Similarly, the potential applications of the Purion® tissue processing technology for soft tissue repair could give us offerings that are extremely complementary to our planned CollaFix™ products. By adding the Purion® technology to our existing platforms, we could have product or tissue offerings with distinctly different degradation profiles designed to fit the surgeon's preference based on the specific repair."

"We are very pleased to be joining with MiMedx Group," added John Daniel, President and Founder of Surgical Biologics. "Amniotic tissue has been widely studied and has implant potential for numerous medical areas, such as wound healing, burns, soft tissue trauma, tendon repair and posterior spinal applications. These areas are totally in sync with the strategy that MiMedx has developed."

MiMedx reported that it expects the transaction to be accretive in 2011. The Company reported that Surgical Biologics is projected to have 2010 revenues of approximately $2 million, and MiMedx projects the 2011 revenues to be generated from the Surgical Biologics processed tissue to be in the range of $7 million. The transaction is subject to certain conditions to closing, which is expected to occur in early January 2011.