RTI Surgical Announces Agreement to Acquire Cook Biotech from Cook Group

Reinforces RTI's position as leading regenerative medicine CDMO by expanding its differentiated portfolio of allograft and xenograft biomaterials.

Creates a platform with a unique breadth of capabilities and access to clinical segments.

Together, RTI Surgical and Cook Biotech have distributed more than 17 million implants that have improved the lives of patients around the world.

ALACHUA, Fla., Jan. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- RTI Surgical, an industry leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), serving the regenerative medicine industry, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cook Biotech Incorporated, a leader in advanced tissue-repair products from biomaterials, headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana.

With the acquisition of Cook Biotech, RTI Surgical is taking another landmark step to reinforce its position as a unique CDMO in regenerative medicine. The combined entity will provide customers and surgeons access to new clinical segments and offer leading-edge expertise, scale and flexibility across end-to-end services including design, development, regulatory support, verification and validation, manufacturing and supply chain management. The acquisition will also reinforce RTI's strategic focus on soft tissue clinical segments and enable its customers to leverage a clinically proven portfolio of naturally occurring bioresorbable materials designed to improve patients' lives and outcomes.

Cook Biotech discovered the regenerative properties of porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) and pioneered the development of SIS tissue into a proven, regenerative biomaterial that is used in a variety of clinical applications. With the support of Cook Group, Cook Biotech has remained at the forefront of innovation in biomaterials and contributed to progressing science and solving unmet patient needs in fields such as nerve repair, cardiovascular, and drug delivery.

Olivier Visa, RTI Surgical president and chief executive officer, said: "We are uniquely positioned to become a leading CDMO in regenerative medicine as an innovator of differentiated allograft and xenograft biomaterials, and we look forward to welcoming the Cook Biotech team and leveraging their world-class talents and capabilities in xenograft development and processing to better address patient needs together."

RTI's acquisition of Cook Biotech is backed by its main shareholder Montagu, who is increasing its investment in the group and contributing carve-out experience and capabilities to the transaction.

Adrien Sassi, partner at Montagu, said: "We are committed to supporting both companies in reaching their full potential by leveraging proven technologies to create a platform for innovation that enables surgeons to better address the unique needs of their patients. We are excited to extend our support to RTI's development and proud that Cook Group are trusting us for Cook Biotech's next phase of development."

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2024.

About RTI Surgical
RTI Surgical (RTI) is an industry leading global medical device organization with expertise in HCT/P and medical device regulatory pathways. RTI partners with OEM customers to develop and deliver surgical implants across diverse market segments including Dental, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Sports Medicine, Spine, Trauma and Urology/Urogynecology. RTI is headquartered in Alachua, Fla., and has manufacturing facilities in the United States and Europe. The company is accredited in the U.S. by the American Association of Tissue Banks. For more information, visit www.rtisurgical.com.

About Cook Biotech
Founded in 1995, Cook Biotech develops and manufactures SIS products for a variety of clinical applications; these products have over 50 cleared regulatory indications. Cook Biotech's products are derived from SIS's naturally occurring, intact extracellular matrix (ECM) using proprietary manufacturing processes. This material acts as a scaffold that allows host cells to infiltrate and remodel into vascularized tissue. For more information about Cook Biotech, please visit www.cookbiotech.com.

About Cook Group
Cook Group is a privately held company with headquarters in Bloomington, Indiana. Our diverse business portfolio includes companies working in life sciences, business services, resorts, property management, and medical devices. Founded in 1963, Cook Group companies today employ more than 12,000 people around the world. We are committed to improving lives by giving back to our communities, supporting our employees and their families, and serving our customers and their patients. Learn more at cookgroup.com. 

About Montagu 
Montagu is a leading mid-market private equity firm, committed to finding and growing businesses that make the world work. Focusing on businesses with a must-have product or service in a structurally growing marketplace, Montagu brings proven growth capabilities to help companies achieve their ambitions and unlock their full potential. Montagu specializes in carve-out and other first time buyout investments and has deep expertise in five priority sectors: Healthcare, Financial Sector Services, Critical Data, Digital Infrastructure and Education. ESG forms an integral part of its strategy, and its commitment to responsible investment is fully integrated into its investment and value-creation process. Montagu partners with companies with enterprise values between €200 million and €1 billion and has €11bn assets under management. For additional information on Montagu, visit www.montagu.com.

SOURCE RTI Surgical