• Unique extrusion printing technology for medical-grade polymers will expand addressable market for personalized healthcare solutions
  
• Regulatory clearance anticipated this year
• Ability to produce 3D printed medical devices in PEEK helps deliver optimal solutions tailored for end-user, enhances patient experience
  

ROCK HILL, S.C., Feb. 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Kumovis, a Munich, Germany-based additive manufacturing solutions provider for personalized healthcare applications. Kumovis’ solutions are built upon their unique extrusion technology specifically developed for precision printing of medical-grade, high-performance polymers such as PEEK (polyether ether ketone). These materials are often preferred for human implants and surgical instrumentation applications, and, when combined with the Kumovis 3D printing technology, enable surgeons to deliver better, faster, and more economical patient outcomes. With this acquisition, 3D Systems will add a unique extrusion technology to its extensive polymer printing healthcare portfolio, allowing the company to expand its addressable market for personalized healthcare applications.

“As a pioneer in personalized healthcare solutions, 3D Systems is continuously searching for opportunities to expand our application offerings that will advance healthcare delivery,” said Dr. Jeffrey Graves, president and CEO, 3D Systems. “The addition of the Kumovis team – their expertise and technology – will be highly synergistic to our medical business model. Our proven ability to deliver regulatory-approved, implantable 3D printed medical devices, personalized to improve patient outcomes, to surgeons around the world through our exceptional channel partners, will help ensure that the Kumovis PEEK-based offerings can be brought to market quickly and effectively. Moreover, 3D Systems’ expanding point of care initiatives will be greatly enhanced through the inclusion of Kumovis’ unique ‘integrated clean room’ printing technology, allowing hospitals and other end-users to tailor products on-demand, to meet specific patient requirements in the quickest and most resource-efficient manner.”

Stefan Leonhardt, co-CEO and co-founder of Kumovis added, “In addition, by joining forces with 3D Systems, we will be able to combine their outstanding solutions with our unique PEEK printing technology to offer efficient, validated end-to-end workflows to produce personalized implants and improve patient outcomes. We look forward to increasing the focus on our core competencies to help accelerate the development of the next generation of implants and transform medical device manufacturing.”

PEEK is a very desirable material for the production of medical devices because it is lightweight, resistant to thermal and ionizing radiation, and possesses mechanical properties similar to those of human bone. The addition of Kumovis’ additive manufacturing solutions to the company’s personalized healthcare solutions portfolio will allow 3D Systems to expand its offering for medical devices and point of care markets for the following indications:

• Craniomaxillofacial applications have been a core focus for 3D Systems for many years. Through this acquisition, the company will expand its VSP^® (virtual surgical planning) solutions portfolio to include PEEK implant manufacturing in addition to its anatomical model and surgical guidance products for a complete solution that can be bundled for its customers.
• Bone plates for trauma is a new application focus for which Kumovis is developing carbon fiber reinforced PEEK bone plates for trauma and fracture fixation applications. This has the potential to open more opportunities for 3D Systems to penetrate and grow the trauma point of care medical market segment.
• Spinal cages for which 3D Systems is a leader in the development, production, and sale of both implanted parts and systems for in-house production.
  

As a renowned leader in personalized healthcare solutions, 3D Systems has worked with surgeons over the last decade to plan more than 140,000 patient-specific cases, and manufacture more than two million implants and instruments for 100+ CE-marked and FDA-cleared devices from its world-class, FDA registered, ISO 13485-certified facilities in Littleton, Colorado, and Leuven, Belgium. The company intends to integrate the Kumovis technologies into these locations as a symbiotic fit with its legacy quality systems and regulatory requirements to provide parts to current and prospective customers, as well as deploy this unique extrusion technology at medical and dental point of care providers to produce both implants and surgical instruments.

3D Systems expects this transaction to close in April of 2022. The company will comment further on this growth investment in its upcoming earnings call, scheduled for Monday, February 28, 2022, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. For more information, please visit the company’s website.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including the ability of Kumovis and 3D Systems to consummate the transaction as expected, 3D Systems’ ability to integrate Kumovis into its business, and 3D Systems’ ability to realize the expected benefits of the transaction. In many cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "may," "will," "estimates," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs, assumptions, and current expectations and may include comments as to the company’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included are made only as of the date of the statement. 3D Systems undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements made by management or on its behalf, whether as a result of future developments, subsequent events or circumstances or otherwise.

About 3D Systems
More than 30 years ago, 3D Systems brought the innovation of 3D printing to the manufacturing industry. Today, as the leading additive manufacturing solutions partner, we bring innovation, performance, and reliability to every interaction - empowering our customers to create products and business models never before possible. Thanks to our unique offering of hardware, software, materials, and services, each application-specific solution is powered by the expertise of our application engineers who collaborate with customers to transform how they deliver their products and services. 3D Systems’ solutions address a variety of advanced applications in healthcare and industrial markets such as medical and dental, aerospace & defense, automotive, and durable goods. More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.

About Kumovis
One thing up front: Kumovis is more than just another 3D printer manufacturer. Since its founding in 2017, the Munich, Germany-based start-up has been working on industry-specific end-to-end workflows to transform the manufacturing of medical devices and thus improve patient care. Kumovis has developed 3D printing technology specifically for this purpose and combined it with clean room technology. Be it in the industrial or surgical environment, the focus is on the economical production of functionalized as well as patient-matched implants and instruments made of high-performance polymers. Kumovis also provides medtech companies and hospitals with a regulatory roadmap and documentation, enabling new medical devices to benefit patients faster. For more information, please visit www.kumovis.com.