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 Tuesday, January 29, 2003 DePuy, INC. ACQUIRES ORQUEST, INC., FURTHER EXPANDS ORTHOBIOLOGIC PRODUCT PORTFOLIO AND PIPELINE ONGOING SALES OF HEALOS™ BONE GRAFT SUBSTITUTE OFFERS BALANCE TO DEVELOPMENT-STAGE INITIATIVES DePuy, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, reported today its subsidiary DePuy AcroMed, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Orquest, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing biologically-based implants for orthopaedics and spine surgery. As a broad-based orthopaedic franchise, the DePuy companies will pursue marketing and development of multiple products across all musculoskeletal fields. Terms of the transaction, expected to close in the First Quarter, 2003, were not disclosed. Orquest's flagship product, Healos™ Bone Graft Material, was designed to reduce the time and pain associated with standard bone graft harvesting. Healos products have been marketed in the U.S. and Europe since 2001, and represents a therapeutic advance for patients requiring bone graft material for spine fusion or other surgery. "Acquisition of Orquest allows us to further build our portfolio of orthobiologic products," said Nicholas Valeriani, Johnson & Johnson Company Group Chairman with worldwide management responsibility for DePuy, Inc. and its global franchises. "In conjunction with our recent exclusive, worldwide license with Biopharm, Ltd. for a broad bone morphogenic protein (BMP) technology portfolio, DePuy is positioned for solid leadership into the future of musculoskeletal tissue repair and regeneration”. Located in Mountain View, California, Orquest has combined expertise in cell and molecular biology with biomaterial science to develop a pipeline of products to follow its Healos line of products. Patented technologies and materials for regenerating cartilage, accelerating fracture repair, and augmenting bone formation are key initiatives at the Company. In particular, several years of product development have focused on further enhancing bone formation by combining Healos with the BMP molecule (MP52) now licensed to DePuy. Currently, Healos/MP52 is in human clinical studies in Europe, with the anticipated next stage of clinical development occurring in the U.S. during 2003. Bone grafting, cartilage regeneration, and soft tissue repair are already under investigation by the DePuy franchise. The acquisition of Orquest, complements activities ongoing at DePuy, and other affiliates of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.About DePuy DePuy, Inc. is one of the world’s leading designers, manufacturers and suppliers of orthopaedic devices and supplies. The company is known worldwide for the development, manufacture and marketing of innovative solutions of a wide ranges of orthopaedic pathologies |
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