Smith & Nephew acquires property, manufacturing and operation assets of Nucryst Pharmaceuticals

The Advanced Wound Management division of Smith & Nephew plc (LSE: SN; NYSE: SNN), announced today that its affiliates have completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Nucryst Pharmaceuticals Corp. ("Nucryst") (Nasdaq: NCST; TSX: NCS). The acquisition includes the manufacturing assets from Nucryst's Fort Saskatchewan, Canada operations and the intellectual property estate.

Since 2001, Smith & Nephew has held exclusive license for the sale of the ACTICOAT(TM) dressing portfolio, manufactured at the Ft. Saskatchewan site. This acquisition gives Advanced Wound Management full control over all the intellectual property rights, manufacturing and assets relating to the nanocrystalline silver technology that is incorporated in ACTICOAT, which is the second largest brand in the Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Management product portfolio.

"The ACTICOAT dressings are the only products on the market using the proprietary antimicrobial nanocrystalline silver technology known as SILCRYST(TM). Acquiring this technology and the manufacturing capabilities behind it underlines our commitment to bring clinicians and patients the most advanced solutions for their wound care needs," said Roger Teasdale, President, Advanced Wound Management.