Bloomington-based Cook Group to sell West Lafayette-based biotech unit to Florida company
As Cook Group continues to reevaluate its post-pandemic product portfolio, the Bloomington medical device maker plans to sell its West Lafayette-based tissue repair products unit to a Florida-based company.
West Lafayette-based Cook Biotech generates less than 2% of Cook Group revenue. All of the unit’s 275 employees will become part of RTI Surgical when the deal closes, which Cook expects to happen as early as this month.
Both Cook and RTI are privately held. The companies did not disclose the transaction price.
Cook Group President Pete Yonkman said in a news release that RTI “is uniquely positioned to take what the team at Cook Biotech has created over the past 28 years and extend its impact around the world.”
RTI Surgical CEO Olivier Visa said in a news release that the company looks forward to welcoming the Cook team and leveraging its “world-class talents and capabilities.”
The Florida company said Cook discovered the regenerative properties of tissue from part of the intestinal wall of pigs and pioneered the development of that tissue into a “proven, regenerative biomaterial.”
According to an article published in the National Library of Medicine, the pig-based tissue has been used in people as a supporting scaffold to repair, among other things, major blood vessels, tendons and wounds. For example, it has been used in urinary tract and bladder reconstruction.
Cook Group's post-pandemic 5-year vision
Cook said the sale is the latest in a series of decisions related to its 5-year vision. The company late last year sold parts of its reproductive health and ear, nose and throat businesses to a California rival.
Cook announced in November that it was implementing “a new vision and strategic plan” to position itself to be successful “in this new world,” after significant change over the last few years.
R. Andrew Butters, assistant professor of business economics and public policy at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, said businesses, especially those in the medical field, have had to reevaluate their post-pandemic business models and at the same time figure out how to deal with increased pressures from high inflation and borrowing costs.
The COVID-19 pandemic created a vastly different economic landscape, especially for health care companies, many of which had to ramp up production during the health crisis only to see demand recede very quickly as the pandemic ended, he said.
Cook, like other companies, likely is reevaluating its position across a whole suite of products and services, Butters said.
Yonkman said in the release, "Cook Group is getting focused on using our resources to invest in areas we know we can grow and make a significant impact for patients."
Butters said the Bloomington-based company also is likely seeing the effects of inflation and rising interest rates/borrowing costs. Businesses have seen their costs increase for anything from labor to raw materials, and that’s particularly true for companies that rely on loans or financial arrangements that are sensitive to interest rate changes.
Butters emphasized, though, that despite any changes Cook is implementing to adjust to its post-pandemic reality, the company remains a significant presence in the local economy.
Cook said it has more than 12,000 employees around the world.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Cook selling West Lafayette-based Cook Biotech to RTI Surgical
