TSL has enjoyed a successful flotation on Aim. It raised £8.9m, and saw its shares rise on the first day of trading. Its main product is Permacol, a collagen-based skin tissue based on pig skin. Everything is stripped out from the pig skin except the collagen and elastin, providing a matrix onto which human tissue can grow and be integrated. This matrix, which was developed over 20 years by a pair of doctors, is permanent, non-allergenic, safe and integrates well with the human body, as blood vessels can grow through the structure. Permacol was launched in the UK in 1998, with over 10,000 surgical implants already in use. The safety record of the implants has been 'excellent'. The main applications for Permacol include pelvic floor reconstruction, cosmetic and maxillo-facial surgery, hernia repair, and general urological and gynaecological purposes, for which there is a marketing agreement in place with CR Bard. This provides TSL with around £80 per pelvic floor reconstruction operations, of which around half a million are carried out each year in the US. TSL is aiming for a 15% market share within five years. Other distribution agreements should follow. Chief executive Martin Hunt said that he was 'really pleased with the market reaction' to the offering. 'Not too many IPOs are getting away at the moment, and we are delighted with how it went. I think the main attraction was that we have received FDA approval in the States, which is no mean feat for a company like us. Unlike biotechs, we have already done the research and are already generating revenues. We have already done a lot of the work'.

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