Smith & Nephew wraps up $330m purchase of Israeli medtech firm CartiHeal

Medtech giant Smith + Nephew has completed the acquisition of CartiHeal, the developer of novel sports medicine technology Agili-C, which targets cartilage regeneration in the knee.

The deal, first announced in November, has seen S+N pay $180m upfront – financed by existing cash and debt facilities – with a further $150m dependent on future financial targets.

Based in Kfar Saba, Israel, CartiHeal started in 2009 as a university spin-out and is the developer of Agili-C – an off-the-shelf one-step treatment for osteochondral (bone and cartilage) lesions which is used to treat people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. It's estimated that some 700,000 people need cartilage repair annually in the US.

"With its proven superiority to current standard of care, Agili-C has the potential to transform cartilage repair outcomes," said Scott Schaffner, president of Sports Medicine at S+N.

"Our expertise in regenerative therapy and leadership in knee repair gives me great confidence that this will be a significant value creator for Smith+Nephew."

S+N's shares closed Tuesday's session at 1,083.5p, having risen 5% since the deal was first announced on 22 November. The stock has rebounded strongly after hitting a multi-year low of 887p in early November on the back of a trading update which pointed to full-year sales growth at the top end of guidance.