Microwave health technology firm Emblation has acquired a US distributor for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.
The Alloa-baed business has been undertaking a two year-long period of expansion and stated that buying Orlando-based Saorsa will help fuel the next phase of its development.
The company has been the sole distributor of Emblation's Swift Microwave Therapy device in North America.
Gary Beale, co-founder and chief executive of Emblation, said: “This is a huge step towards us achieving both our commercial and clinical goals over the next four years.
“The US is the largest global healthcare market and from an Emblation perspective, represents a major area for growth.”
Saorsa is led by its founders Chris McNamara and Pete Turnbull, who first met Beale at the launch of the Swift machine in Canada.
Beale added: “When we began discussing our plans for the US market, they were determined to take advantage of the opportunity and as a result, they founded Saorsa alongside two investors and former colleagues in 2018.“
Since then, Saorsa has rolled out more than 400 devices, with more than 1,000 practitioners trained in its use and more than 50,000 treatments carried out on skin lesions.
Following the acquisition, it is now expected to deliver even greater growth and is already recruiting new staff with ambitions to triple the number of Swift devices in use across the US in the next three years.
MacNamara added: “This acquisition was an important step for both companies to achieve our long-term ambition to establish Swift as the market leader in microwave-based applications for the treatment of skin lesions.
“We understand the challenges facing US private practice and are committed to making an impact through innovation - we’ll be able to immediately benefit from shared capabilities and will sharpen our focus on accelerated growth for the US business.”
The creation of Emblation Inc in the US, follows the establishment earlier this year of Emblation GmbH in Germany, bringing a third global business under the corporate umbrella.
The Swift device provides podiatrists and dermatologists with a more precise and easy procedure for soft tissue lesions. The treatment works by delivering a highly controlled dose of microwave energy into the tissue, creating heat which stimulates an immune response. This delivers effective outcomes for warts and verrucae.
Emblation’s technology is also transforming the treatment of HPV infections and is widely used in dermatology, podiatry and oncology, with a number of new applications under development in cardiology and gynaecology.
The firm was founded by Beale and Eamon McErlean, who met during post-graduate studies at the University in Edinburgh. The pair went on to launch Swift in 2016.
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