Sientra Inc has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets related to AuraGen Aesthetics LLC’s novel fat grafting technology, the AuraGen 1-2-3 with AuraClens (the AuraGen system).
The AuraGen system, developed by researchers and plastic surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital, is FDA 510k-cleared for processing a patient’s own fat for aesthetic body contouring in a broad range of aesthetic specialties.
“As we sought opportunities to build on our vision of enhancing lives by advancing the art of plastic surgery, we identified AuraGen’s fat grafting technology as a perfect fit to augment our existing product portfolio, expand our customer base, and drive further growth well beyond breast products.
“AuraGen’s transformative fat grafting system will provide us with a unique platform to not only grow our total market share within breast procedures, but also allow us to significantly increase our total addressable market by expanding into other areas of the body, including the face, potentially replacing currently available procedures using synthetic fillers with a procedure that uses the patient’s own tissue.”
— Ron Menezes, Sientra’s President and Chief Executive Officer
The AuraGen system’s novel, filtering, washing, and concentrating system for fat processing is clinically proven to provide superior retention and predictability in utilizing a patient’s own fat to fill in other areas of the body. The AuraGen system allows clinicians to easily and efficiently process small (50 mL or less) or large (700 mL) volumes of a patient’s fat in less than 10 minutes, and its unique features produce fat grafts with greater than 90% fat concentration and greater that 90% cell viability.
Early clinical evidence with the AuraGen technology has demonstrated fat retention rates greater than 70%, as compared with an average of 40% with traditional saline wash solutions.
“Our goal was to provide physicians and their patients with a simple, reliable, and effective option for fat transfer. The missing element has been predictability. This technology helps provide that solution and is effective in both cosmetic and reconstructive procedures.”
— William Gerald (Jay) Austen Jr, MD, Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Chief of Burn Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School
Transaction Terms
Under the terms of the transaction, Sientra will acquire substantially all of the assets owned or controlled by AuraGen relating to its fat grafting technology for an upfront payment of $1 million in cash and 3.9 million shares of common stock. Additionally, the agreement includes milestone payments of $3 million in cash due on the 12-month anniversary of signing, and up to $8.5 million payable in cash, stock, or a combination of both, based upon reaching agreed clinical endpoints.
“We are excited to bring to market what we believe will be a game-changing approach in medical aesthetics. This acquisition allows Sientra to further drive demand by expanding its portfolio of products to address evolving market trends,” Menezes concludes.
[Source(s): Sientra Inc, GlobeNewswire]
