In the latest chapter in the tale of the declining B.C. biotech industry, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced yesterday that it is to sell off one of its subsidiaries to an American medical device company for $362.5 million.
The Vancouver biomedical company, which was forced to seek creditor protection in 2011, announced it is selling its interventional products business to Texas-based Argon Medical Devices Inc. The business unit makes specialized catheters, wound dressings and a vascular "snare" used for things like removing foreign objects in blood vessels.
The sale, which is still subject to shareholder approval, would allow Angiotech to write off its debt and focus on developing its remaining businesses.
Angiotech is one of a number of local biotech or biomedical companies that have been suffered significant financial setbacks in recent years. In 2011, the company was delisted from both the Nasdaq and TSX, after shares fell below $1, and was forced to restructure under creditor protection, due to declining royalties.
"This important transaction will enable Angiotech to retire all of its remaining debt obligations, and in addition will provide excess cash proceeds, which we plan to use to provide an immediate return to our shareholders and to invest in our remaining businesses," said Angiotech CEO Thomas Bailey.
"This event represents a culmination of turnaround efforts we initiated upon concluding our 2011 restructuring, and is a direct result of the exceptional and improved business results our teams were able to achieve in 2012."
The company plans to use some of the cash generated from the sale to concentrate on developing and marketing some of its other medical devices in its surgical products business.
The company recently received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for is BioSeal, which is used to close wounds from lung biopsies.
