Morningside Technology Ventures, Prism VentureWorks, and Ivy Capital
Partners are pleased to announce the acquisition of their portfolio
company, Serica Technologies, Inc. by Allergan, Inc. Serica is a
growth-stage medical device company focused on the development of
biodegradable silk-based scaffolds for use in tissue regeneration in
numerous therapeutic areas. Following the acquisition, Serica became a
wholly owned subsidiary of Allergan. Serica Stockholders received an
upfront cash payment plus equity in a new company, Alacer Biomedical,
Inc., which holds exclusive rights to Serica’s intellectual property
within orthopedic and veterinary indications. The value of the
transaction was not disclosed.
“This highly successful outcome was made possible by both an outstanding
technology and a top-notch team”
Serica was formed in 1998 based on technology originating from Tufts
University. Prior to the acquisition, Serica had raised less than $24M
in equity financing from a syndicate that included Morningside, Prism,
Ivy, and various individual investors. Allergan plans to continue
operating Serica out of Serica’s state-of-the-art office, R&D, and
manufacturing facility in Medford, MA.
“I am exceptionally pleased about this outcome for all of Serica’s
shareholders,” said Gregory H. Altman, Ph.D., CEO and Founder of Serica.
“Our dedicated team created a truly revolutionary biomaterial platform
and then demonstrated its utility in a number of medical indications.
Given Allergan’s expertise across multiple health care specialties, they
were able to quickly gauge the great potential of our technology
platform. Our team is excited to join Allergan Medical and we are
further motivated by their strong commitment to continue developing
Serica’s technology. I am also very pleased that Alacer will continue
developing Serica’s scaffold platform within orthopedics and veterinary
medicine where great unmet clinical needs still exist.”