ReAble, a privately held rehabilitation and orthopedic device company based on Austin, TX, announced today that it would acquire drug-delivery firm IOMED for $22 million in cash. Following the acquisition, expected to close in July 2007 subject to the approval of IOMED shareholders, the company will be a wholly owned subsidiary of ReAble (formerly Encore Medical Corporation). It will operate under ReAble’s Empi division, which makes pain management and rehabilitation devices; IOMED’s drug-delivery devices are used primarily for pain management.
Under the terms of the merger, IOMED will continue its manufacturing, customer support and product development functions at its Salt Lake City, UT, facility. The company also will maintain its field-sales support, and will continue to distribute its core iontophoresis product lines through an existing network of independent sales agents and specialty distributors. Iontophoresis is a technology that delivers pharmaceuticals transdermally using electric current to ionize drug molecules and propel them through the skin. A realtive old timer in this space, IOMED’s first drug-delivery product hit the market in 1979.