Baxter International, a global medical products company,  announced an agreement to acquire two haemostat and sealant products from Mallinckrodt plc: Recothrom thrombin topical (recombinant), the first and only stand-alone recombinant thrombin, and Preveleak surgical sealant, which is used in vascular reconstruction.

"Uncontrolled intraoperative bleeding can lead to a wide variety of clinical and economic complications for patients and hospitals. As a leading provider of advanced hemostats and sealants, Baxter is focused on continually identifying solutions to help meet surgeons' varying needs," said Wil Boren, president of Baxter's Advanced Surgery business. "We are excited about the addition of Recothrom to help surgeons address less severe intraoperative bleeding and Preveleak to complement Baxter's existing portfolio of sealants for cardiovascular and other surgical specialties."

Thrombin is a proven blood coagulation agent - used on its own or in combination with other haemostats - that has been estimated to be used in more than one million patients per year in the United States to help surgeons address intraoperative bleeding1. Recothrom is a thrombin-based product indicated as an aid to haemostasis whenever oozing blood and minor bleeding from capillaries and small venules is accessible and control of bleeding by standard surgical techniques is ineffective or impractical in adults and paediatric populations greater than or equal to one month of age. As the only topical haemostat from recombinant DNA origin approved in the United States and Canada, Recothrom can be used in pediatric and adult patients with or without antibodies to bovine-derived thrombin.

The acquisition also includes Preveleak, a surgical sealant designed to seal suture holes formed during surgical repair of the circulatory system and to reinforce sutured connections between blood vessels. Preveleak augments Baxter's portfolio of complementary haemostats, sealants and tissue products used in cardiovascular and other surgeries, offering surgeons additional clinically differentiated products to address patients' varying needs. Preveleak is approved in the United States and European Union.

Sales of the proposed acquired products totalled approximately $56 million in the twelve months preceding September 29, 2017. Upon closing, the deal is expected to be modestly accretive to Baxter's 2018 adjusted earnings and increasingly accretive thereafter. Under the terms of the agreement, Baxter will acquire Recothrom and Preveleak for an upfront payment of approximately $153 million and potential contingent payments in the future.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2018, subject to the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary closing conditions.