Freudenberg Medical buys majority stake in Hemoteq

Carpinteria, California – Freudenberg Medical, a California-based maker of specialty components and minimally invasive medical and pharmaceutical devices, has acquired the majority of Hemoteq AG, a German producer of surface coating technologies for medical devices.

“Hemoteq’s coating technology adds a key technology component to our portfolio and represents an important milestone in our long-term strategy to provide a full suite of innovative technology services to our global medical device OEM customers,” Jorg Schneewind, president and CEO of Freudenberg Medical, said in an 18 Aug news release.

Under the deal, Carpinteria-based Freudenberg Medical said it will acquire 75 percent of Hemoteq from current shareholders Earlybird Venture Capital and Pinova Capital GmbH.

The remaining shares are held by Michael Hoffmann and Roland Horres — the founders of Hemoteq. The pair, along with Chief Financial Officer Thomas Loewen, will continue to manage the company.

Max Kley, president of Freudenberg Medical Europe and Specialty Components, will become chairman of the supervisory board.

Würselen, Germany-based Hemoteq develops coating solutions for combination products such as stents, as well as coatings for catheters and cochlear implants. Freudenberg said Hemoteq is a market leader in drug-coated balloon catheters and holds more than 100 technology patents in innovative surface technologies.

“The product and service spectrum of Hemoteq perfectly complements the capabilities of Freudenberg Medical,” Kley said.

Hemoteq provides comprehensive services from the development of the medical device to regulatory approval and serial production. Freudenberg Medical said it develops and manufactures minimally invasive systems as well as components made of silicone, thermoplastics and specialty metals; those surfaces can be modified with active-ingredient coatings for optimal efficiency of the medical device.

“With the combination of our material and processing expertise and Hemoteq's leading coating technologies we can provide our customers a unique portfolio of product solutions” Hoffmann said.

“Freudenberg Medical offers Hemoteq excellent market access to offer our solutions worldwide. The long-term orientation and financial stability of Freudenberg assures our customers that we can reliably support them over long development processes and throughout their product life cycles.”

Freudenberg Medical, formerly Helix Medical and MedVenture Technology, is a global partner for the design, development and manufacture of medical device technologies.