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BD will use Tepha Inc.’s proprietary resorbable polymer platform to spur growth in its surgical mesh products and develop soft-tissue repair technology.

PlasticsToday Staff

July 27, 2021

1 Min Read
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Global medtech giant BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.) announced today it has acquired Tepha Inc., a developer and manufacturer of proprietary resorbable polymer technology. 

Tepha's resorbable polymer technology platform, based on Poly 4-hydroxybutyric acid (P4HB), provides BD with growth prospects for its surgical mesh portfolio and opens opportunities in soft tissue repair, reconstruction, and regeneration, said the company in the news release. The acquisition of Tepha also provides strategic vertical integration of an important supply chain component for BD's existing Phasix Mesh products. Tepha’s polymer is used in that product to provide short-term support for soft tissue repairs, while enabling rapid tissue ingrowth and reasorption into the body over time, said BD. Tepha's GalaFlex portfolio, also based on the novel P4HB polymer, is included in the acquisition.

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Tepha's GalaFLEX products are a bioresorbable scaffold for soft tissue support and to repair, elevate, and reinforce deficiencies where weakness or voids exist that require the addition of material to obtain the desired surgical outcome.

BD said that increasing its resorbable mesh portfolio is viewed as a growth driver. The BD Interventional segment intends to expand the applicability of Tepha's technology to other medical applications and to drive the transformation of soft tissue repair and regeneration as part of its strategy to innovate solutions for clinicians and patients in the future.

Tepha is the sixth tuck-in acquisition that BD has completed in fiscal 2021. Just recently, BD acquired Velano Vascular, a San Francisco-based company that developed needle-free technology to perform blood draws from existing peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) lines. The technology eliminates multiple needlesticks for blood collection and moves healthcare providers closer to the aspirational "one-stick hospital stay," said BD.

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