Kerecis pays $285 million in taxes to Iceland from intellectual property transfer

In December 2024, Kerecis, an Icelandic biotechnology company specializing in fish skin-based medical treatments, transferred its intellectual property rights to its parent company, Coloplast, for approximately 180 billion ISK ($1.3 billion), reports business newspaper Viðskiptablaðið. This transaction is fully taxable in Iceland, with estimated tax payments of 40 billion ISK ($285 million), payable over a seven-year period as per Icelandic tax regulations.

Kerecis is known for its innovative use of fish skin in wound care and surgical procedures. The company has developed a unique technology that utilizes intact fish skin to regenerate human tissue, particularly for burn victims, diabetic wounds, and other severe skin injuries. The fish skin is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which promote faster healing and reduce inflammation. This groundbreaking method has gained international recognition and is widely used in medical treatments worldwide.

The sale encompasses nearly 200 patents related to innovations by Kerecis’s founder and CEO, Guðmundur Fertram Sigurjónsson and his team. This move aligns with Coloplast’s strategy, following its acquisition of Kerecis in the summer of 2023, to centralize intellectual property ownership within the parent company.

Guðmundur claims that this transfer will not affect Kerecis’s operations in Iceland, where the company’s headquarters will remain. He noted significant growth in the company’s workforce and activities in Iceland since the acquisition. Expressing satisfaction with the substantial tax contribution, Fertram Sigurjónsson stated, “I hope these funds will be utilized for infrastructure development.”

To put the tax revenue in perspective, Fertram Sigurjónsson pointed out that 40 billion ISK ($285 million) amounts to approximately half the annual operating expenses of Landspítali, the National University Hospital of Iceland.

He also highlighted the importance of a stable and predictable operational environment for the intellectual property industry in Iceland, citing tax incentives for development costs as crucial for companies like Kerecis.

“It is evident how beneficial support for innovation can be for the nation,” said Fertram Sigurjónsson

Kerecis was sold to Coloplast in 2023 for about 180 billion ISK ($1.3 billion), with 113 billion ISK ($800 million) going to Icelandic shareholders, including 22 billion ISK ($155 million) to shareholders in the Westfjords. The sale made Kerecis Iceland’s first startup unicorn. The company’s total value creation, in terms of global sales revenue from 2013 to 2025, amounts to approximately 90 billion ISK ($642 million).

Currently, Kerecis employs 130 people in Iceland, with 80 in Ísafjörður and 50 in Reykjavík.