Sientra Announces Acquisition of Novel Fat Grafting Technology from AuraGen Aesthetics, LLC
- Broadens Sientra’s opportunity within the estimated $13 billion U.S. plastic surgery market1 with the addition of a highly differentiated, FDA-cleared fat grafting technology
- Leverages Sientra’s existing commercial team and strong brand reputation to drive growth in breast augmentation and reconstruction market
- Expands into new aesthetic applications – including the significant opportunity for face, hands and gluteal augmentation – with a clinically proven system that delivers superior retention and predictability
- Accelerates Sientra’s vision to transform the art and science of plastic surgery beyond breast products to become a significant player in the medical aesthetics market
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Jan. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sientra, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIEN) (“Sientra” or the “Company”), a medical aesthetics company focused on enhancing lives by advancing the art of plastic surgery, today announced that it entered into a definitive agreement on December 31, 2021 to acquire substantially all of the assets related to AuraGen Aesthetic, LLC’s novel fat grafting technology, the AuraGen 1-2-3™ with AuraClens™ (the “AuraGen system”). The AuraGen system, developed by leading researchers and plastic surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital, is FDA 510k-cleared for processing a patient’s own fat for aesthetic body contouring in a broad range of aesthetic specialties.
“As we sought opportunities to build on our vision of enhancing lives by advancing the art of plastic surgery, we identified AuraGen’s fat grafting technology as a perfect fit to augment our existing product portfolio, expand our customer base, and drive further growth well beyond breast products,” commented Ron Menezes, Sientra’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “AuraGen’s transformative fat grafting system will provide us with a unique platform to not only grow our total market share within breast procedures, but also allow us to significantly increase our total addressable market by expanding into other areas of the body, including the face, potentially replacing currently available procedures using synthetic fillers with a procedure that uses the patient’s own tissue.”
The AuraGen system’s novel, filtering, washing, and concentrating system for fat processing is clinically proven to provide superior retention and predictability in utilizing a patient’s own fat to fill in other areas of the body. The AuraGen system allows clinicians to easily and efficiently process small (50 ml or less) or large (700ml) volumes of a patient’s fat in less than ten minutes, and its unique features produce fat grafts with greater than 90% fat concentration and greater that 90% cell viability.2 Early clinical evidence with the AuraGen technology has demonstrated fat retention rates greater than 70%, as compared with an average of 40% with traditional saline wash solutions.3
“Our goal was to provide physicians and their patients with a simple, reliable, and effective option for fat transfer,” said William Gerald (Jay) Austen, Jr., MD, Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Chief of Burn Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. “The missing element has been predictability. This technology helps provide that solution and is effective in both cosmetic and reconstructive procedures.”
Under the terms of the transaction, Sientra will acquire substantially all of the assets owned or controlled by AuraGen relating to its fat grafting technology for an upfront payment of $1 million in cash and 3.9 million shares of common stock. Additionally, the agreement includes milestone payments of $3 million in cash due on the 12-month anniversary of signing, and up to $8.5 million payable in cash, stock, or a combination of both, based upon reaching agreed clinical endpoints.
“We are excited to bring to market what we believe will be a game-changing approach in medical aesthetics. This acquisition allows Sientra to further drive demand by expanding its portfolio of products to address evolving market trends,” Menezes concluded.
About Sientra
Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, Sientra is a medical aesthetics company exclusively focused on plastic surgery. The Company mission is to offer proprietary innovations and unparalleled partnerships that radically advance how plastic surgeons think, work and care for their patients. Sientra has developed a broad portfolio of products with technologically differentiated characteristics, supported by independent laboratory testing and strong clinical trial outcomes. The Company’s product portfolio includes its Sientra round and shaped breast implants, the first fifth generation breast implants approved by the FDA for sale in the United States, its ground-breaking Allox2® breast tissue expander with patented dual-port and integral drain technology, the AuraGen fat grafting system, and BIOCORNEUM®, the #1 performing, preferred and recommended scar gel of plastic surgeons(*).
Sientra uses its investor relations website to publish important information about the Company, including information that may be deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about Sientra is routinely posted and is accessible on the Company’s investor relations website at www.sientra.com.
(*) Data on file
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, based on management’s current assumptions and expectations of future events and trends, which affect or may affect the Company’s business, strategy, operations or financial performance, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release. The words ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘might,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘aim,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘continue, ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘position,” or the negative of those terms, and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes are intended to identify estimates, projections and other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include information concerning the estimated size of the US plastic surgery market, the Company’s ability to leverage its existing commercial team and brand to generate fat grafting sales, the Company’s ability to expand into new aesthetic applications with fat grafting, the Company’s ability to grow its presence in the medical aesthetics market, the Company’s ability to expand its customer base, the Company’s ability to expand its market share within breast procedures, the Company’s ability to increase its total addressable market, and the ability of fat grafting to replace synthetic fillers. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the positive reaction from plastic surgeons and their patients to the AuraGen system, the Company’s ability to successfully leverage its commercial team and brand to generate significant fat grafting sales, the Company’s ability to execute on its commercial, clinical and research and development plans, the Company’s ability expand its market share with its current customers and in breast procedures, and the Company’s ability to expand into additional aesthetic applications and markets. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in this press release can be found in the Risk Factors section of Sientra’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The words ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘might,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘aim,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘continue, ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘position,” or the negative of those terms, and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes are intended to identify estimates, projections and other forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and such estimates, projections and other forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and, except to the extent required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or review any estimate, projection or forward-looking statement. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company’s business.
Investor Relations Contact
Leigh Salvo
ir@sientra.com
1 Ronan Solutions, Aesthetic Industry Insights Dec 12, 2021. Data on File.
2 An, et al., “Comparative Analysis of Two Automated Fat-Processing Systems”, PRS – Global Open: January 2020, Vol. 8(1), p. e2587.
3 Phase I Gluteal Augmentation Study – Independent Investigator Study. Data on file.
