Gambro expands into the emerging market for liver support

21-Sep-2004

Gambro acquires the business of Teraklin AG, Germany, and expands its intensive care business into the extracorporeal treatments for liver support. The transaction is subject to approval by a creditors' committee of Teraklin. Teraklin develops, manufactures and markets a product line for the treatment of acute liver failure. Teraklin's product line will be integrated into Gambro Renal Products' renal intensive care business.

The acquisition allows for Gambro to expand into the emerging liver support market. The acute liver failure market is closely related to the renal intensive care market, where Gambro today is the worldwide market leader. The hospitals' intensive care units are the customers for both Teraklin and Gambro's renal intensive care business. Teraklin's technology complements Gambro's existing technology. To treat patients with either acute liver or acute kidney failure, membranes in combination with a machine are used to purify the blood outside the body.

"With the product line from Teraklin and Gambro's competence and worldwide presence in the renal intensive care field, we have an opportunity to expand into this emerging market," says Jon Risfelt, the President of Gambro Renal Products. However, it should be clearly stated that it is a high-risk investment in an emerging market."

Background information about Teraklin and the liver support market Teraklin was founded in 1998 and has close to 60 employees, primarily based in Rostock and Hamburg, Germany. Teraklin's revenue in 2003 was approx. MEUR 5.5. Teraklin has the worldwide leading position in extracorporeal treatment for acute liver failure. Around 4000 patients with liver failure have been treated with Teraklin's MARS liver support therapy. The therapy is based on a dialysis principle to effectively and selectively remove water-soluble and albumin bound toxins from the blood.

Each year about 6,000 patients with no prior history of liver disease develop acute liver failure from various causes, including intoxications (especially acetaminophen), acute viral infection, multi-organ failure, and as a complication of surgery. In addition, patients with underlying chronic disease can get an acute clinical deterioration ("acute on chronic liver failure"). The causes for chronic liver failure could be viral diseases (including hepatitis B and C) and alcohol abuse. The total number of patients that could benefit from the MARS treatment is yet to be defined but an early estimate is some 70,000 patients per year. The goal of liver support is to provide time for a patient either to recover congenital liver function or to prepare for liver transplantation.

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