Fertram Sigurjonsson, CEO of Kerecis, discusses the recent acquisition, how the Company has evolved over the last decade and key milestones along its “Road to Success” in an interview with SmartTRAK.
Kerecis has come a long way since SmartTRAK wrote a Startup Spotlight article on the Company back in 2012, when it was just emerging as a potential player in the highly lucrative Skin Substitute/CTP market. In the recent acquisition by Coloplast for $1.2B to $1.3B, Kerecis will have recorded the highest sales multiple in Advanced Wound Care history. SmartTRAK's Susan Paquette, VP & GM of Wound, talked with Fertram Sigurjonsson, CEO of Kerecis, to discuss the Company’s “Road to Success.”
The Interview
SmartTRAK: We have been following Kerecis for more than a decade. The Company has come a long way since I originally interviewed you in 2012. Let's start by discussing how the company evolved to where it is today and when your vision for Kerecis materialized.
Fertram Sigurjonsson: I started my tenure in the medical device industry at a company called Össur, which makes prosthetics. That’s when I became aware of amputations and the consequences of chronic wounds that don’t heal. It is where my ambitions and interests started. Then, I had a career at several medical device companies and eventually had the opportunity to establish myself as an entrepreneur working on several wound-related ideas in 2007.
To what do you attribute Kerecis recording the highest sales multiple in Advanced Wound Care history?
FS: I would not define Kerecis as a wound care company only. We derive revenues from wound care, of course, but today a large part of our revenue is derived from reconstructive surgery in the OR with our implantable products. The multiple we received is not atypical to medical device companies in that segment.
What were some of the key milestones or events that you feel triggered the success of the company?
FS: Since I came up with the concept of using fish skin to heal damaged tissue and building a team around me to develop that idea, I've always been very convinced about the success of the technology. Since the first concept test, I really never doubted it. I've always been very confident that the technology would be successful.
As for the company's success, we started operations in the US in 2016 and that’s when I realized ...
To download and read the transcript of the complete interview with Fertram Sigurjonsson, CEO of Kerecis, by SmartTRAK's Susan Paquette, VP & General Manager, Wound, just click the button below. 
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