A Galway medical technology company behind a device that helps surgeons to close large holes in major arteries has been acquired by New York Stock Exchange-listed medical device group Haemonetics in a deal worth up to €185 million.
Founded in 2009 and backed by Enterprise Ireland and the Western Development Commission, among others, Vivasure Medical has developed sutureless patches that can be absorbed by the body, minimising invasiveness in the closure of vessels after heart and vascular surgeries.
The sale price for the Irish company comprises a €100 million cash payment upfront, and a further €85 million if certain manufacturing and sales milestones are reached, Boston-headquartered Haemonetics said in a statement on Thursday evening.
Vivasure’s PerQseal and PerQseal Elite technologies are not yet available in the US, but the company submitted a premarket approval application to the Federal Drug Administration last year.
The technology has, however, received CE (Conformité Européenne) mark approval in the EU, meaning it meets the bloc’s health and safety standards.
“We’re extremely proud of the progress made in advancing closure technology, and grateful to the clinicians who supported Vivasure’s mission,” said Andrew Glass, chief executive officer of Vivasure.
Ger Brett, the company’s co-founder and chief operations officer, thanked the company’s board, investors and the Government bodies that backed it. “We’re proud to make PerQseal in Ireland and distribute it around the world.”
Over its lifetime, Vivasure has raised money from sources including Fountain Healthcare Partners, whose partner Justin Lynch sits on the Vivasure board.
In 2016, it raised €16.5 million, led by Dutch-based Life Sciences Partners and Germany’s Evonik Venture Capital. Three years later, the company secured €10 million in venture debt financing from the European Investment Bank.
More recently, Haemonetics invested €30 million in Vivasure in 2022 in a deal that included an option to acquire the Irish business.
“With strong clinical performance and safety data, PerQseal Elite positions us for increased leadership in advanced closure, as we leverage our commercial scale and operational synergies to deliver increased value to physicians and hospitals,” said Ken Crowley, vice-president and general manager of interventional technologies at Haemonetics.
Vivasure employed some 49 people in 2024, according to abridged accounts filed by the company last November.
Accumulated losses of more than €125 million had built up at the company by the end of that year. In a note to the accounts, the directors said the company meets its day-to-day requirements by way of funding from its shareholders.
Vivasure also negotiated €20 million loan from Haemonetics in 2025. The accounts note that the loan would be used “to repay the current loan held by the company in the amount of circa €8 million and the remaining will be used for the operational existence of the company for the foreseeable future and the continued development of its product”.