“FDA Sinks Disc Dynamics” – David Stassen of Split Rock Partners Speaks Out

Disc Dynamics is in the process of shutting down its business. The rumors of the company’s demise were confirmed to OTW by Dave Stassen, founding managing director of Split Rock Partners, the venture capital firm that corralled $65 million in private equity funds since 2000 for the spine company. “Stassen told OTW on January 28 that [...]

Pioneeer Surgical Opens New Offices in Austin, Texas

Pioneer Surgical Technology (Marquette, WI) announced today the company’s plan to open a new office facility in Austin, Texas, April 1, 2010. The new facility provides Pioneer greater recruiting access to industry professionals who will help further the growth and development of Pioneer’s Spine Division. In addition, the move provides greater strategic access to key [...]

Anika Therapeutics Acquires Fidia Advanced Biopolymers

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANIK) has acquired Fidia Advanced Biopolymers, s.r.l. (“FAB”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of privately held Italian pharmaceutical company, Fidia Farmaceutici S.p.A. FAB provides hyaluronic acid-based (“HA”) products in several therapeutic areas including for the regeneration of connective and structural tissues damaged by injuries, aging or degenerative diseases. The Company also announced that it [...]

Austen BioInnovation (Akron, OH) to Develop New Products With Help of Partner Orthopaedic Research Labs

Akron’s effort to promote its medical research and development is getting help from a new Cleveland-based partner. Ohio.com… http://www.ohio.com/news/83009392.html

OrthAlign Raises $5.2M in Series a Follow‐on Financing

OrthAlign concluded its Series A financing round with a $5.2 million Series A2 tranche led by California Technology Ventures. Additional participants included Research Corporation Technologies and Okapi Venture Capital. ”This round of financing provides us with the capital to launch our first product, the KneeAlign system, in 2010, and to continue developing other products in our pipeline,” said Pieter [...]

Novel Surgery May Help Young Trauma Patients Avoid Total Hip Replacements

A novel surgery using transplanted bone and cartilage may help young patients avoid a hip replacement after a specific traumatic injury to the hip joint, according to a case study by orthopedic trauma specialists at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The study appears in the February issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma. [...]

Tornier and LifeCell Initiate Clinical Trial for Conexa to Repair Rotator Cuff Tears

Tornier, Inc., a global leader in extremities and sports medicine orthopaedics, and LifeCell™ Corporation, a KCI Company (NYSE: KCI), announced today the first 13 patients have been enrolled in a multi-center clinical trial to document the clinical value of Conexa™ Reconstructive Tissue Matrix for the surgical repair of large rotator cuff tears. Conexa™ is a [...]

Neomend Receives $30M in Funding to Expand Applications of Its ProGEL Anti-Adhesive Sealant for Spine

Neomend, Inc. in Irvine has received $30 million in equity funding including $17 million from Clarus Ventures LLC. Neomend Inc. makes wound sealing products for surgeries. Its ProGEL technology forms a rapid, strong and flexible seal. Also participating in this fourth round of outside funding are Sanderling Ventures, Novo Ventures, Vivo Ventures and Prospect Venture [...]

Connecticut Innovations Invested $750,000 in Soft Tissue Regeneration

Connecticut Innovations invested $750,000 in Soft Tissue Regeneration Inc., which moved to Stamford, CT from Charlottesville. Va., after receiving the funding. Soft Tissue’s product is a synthetic braided “scaffold” that is surgically attached to the femur and tibia bones when replacing a patient’s torn ligament. Others devices are earlier in the development stage, said Joseph Reilly, [...]

Health Care Companies Grab Two of Three VC Dollars in Northeast Ohio

Some $729 million was invested in 69 biopharmaceutical, medical device and equipment, and medical information systems companies from 2005 through 2009, according to a JumpStart Inc. release about the annual report, which will be available in print in February. VC investments cited are the $11M invested by Mutual Capital Partners and River Cities Capital in Akron [...]

Surface Dynamics Receives Tax Freeze to Build $5M Facility in Memphis TN

Medical device coating company Surface Dynamics has received a five-year tax freeze from Bartlett, TN, just outside Memphis, for a $5 million facility that will employ 41. The company is finalizing a lease of a 14,500-square-foot facility in the Axel Business Park Subdivision at 3110 Stage Post, according to its payment-in-lieu-of-taxes request. It will begin $200,000 [...]

ETEX Corporation Announces Distribution Agreement With Alphatec Spine

ETEX Corporation, an advanced biomaterials company, announced today a distribution agreement with Alphatec Spine, of Carlsbad, California. Alphatec Spine will market and sell ETEX’s proprietary bone graft substitute portfolio on a non-exclusive basis in the US. San Francisco Business Times… http://ow.ly/10Vsl

Disc Dynamics R.I.P.

In 2000 Disc Dynamics secured $65 million to fund the development of DASCOR, a disc arthroplasty system. Unable to obtain FDA approval to commence a pivotal study in the U.S., it seems DD has exhausted all possible funding and with its operating funds depleted, DD commenced a wind down of its business effective December [...]

Colorado Orthopedist Performs First Knee Surgery Using ArthroSurface’S Patello-Femoral Resurfacing System

“It’s very rewarding to be able to do something like this that takes away the pain so someone can be active again. “Previously we didn’t have many options for people with kneecap arthritis, except total knee replacement. It’s a relatively common issue in athletic people in their 40s and 50s and it’s a frustrating, painful [...]

BioCeramic Therapeutics Naps $1.9M in Series B Financing

BioCeramic Therapeutics (United Kingdom) a development-stage provider of bioactive materials for orthopaedic and dental applications, closed a $1.9M Series B financing. Participants include Imperial Innovations, Longbow Capital Partners, Comvest and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. OnBioVC… http://ow.ly/YO41 Company Website… http://www.bioceramictherapeutics.com/

Axis Surgical Reports First Human Patient Evaluation for C-MOR

Axis Surgical Technologies has developed a self-contained portable direct-imaging tool. It displays real-time in vivo images directly using an on-board LCD display, providing enhanced utilization of the surgeon’s natural field of view and range of motion. The C-MOR was used by Cleveland-based orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Alan Davis, as an adjunct to three arthroscopic procedures. The C-MOR [...]

Ankles Gain as Candidates for Joint Replacement in the US

Today, four total ankles systems are FDA cleared. And demand is expected to grow as more and more baby boomers hobble into their 60s and 70s with debilitating ankle pain. Ankle replacement has been around for three decades, but it has been slow to catch on. Problems with early devices left surgeons and patients wary. [...]

NuOrtho Surgical CEO Discusses Technology, Financing, and the Future

NuOrtho’s cartilage probe, Ceruleau, is designed for one-time use while performing a surgical treatment for articular knee cartilage called a chondroplasty — a procedure where the damaged knee joint surface is carefully re-contoured to remove lesions and fraying and improve mobility. “The goal of our new surgical probe is to allow the surgeon to preserve the healthy [...]

BioPoly Raises $2M in Its 1st Round of Equity Financing

BioPoly LLC, a Schwartz Biomedical subsidiary, has raised more than $2M in its first round of equity financing. This capital will be used to complete product development and initiate launch of its first orthopaedic products into the market.

RTI Biologics Adds Christie Blakely, Michael LaPrade to Leadership Team

BusinessWire… http://ow.ly/WoFv

Alphatec Spine Gains Rights to Distribute Osteoprogenitor Adult Stem Cells for Treatment of Spinal Disorders

Agreement Provides Alphatec Spine With Exclusive Global Rights to Distribute Parcell’s Proprietary Osteoprogenitor Adult Stem Cells for the Treatment of Spinal Disorders ATEC Press Release… http://ow.ly/Wo6j

VertiFlex Announces First Implantation of Its Shockwave Dynamic Rod

VertiFlex, Inc., announced that it has successfully completed the first human implantation of its Shockwave Dynamic Stabilization System. The surgery was performed by Dr. Stefan Hellinger at the ISAR Klinik in Munich, Germany. The Shockwave System is the company’s next generation Dynamic Rod that provides the most motion of any dynamic rod while also limiting extension [...]

A Preview of the Stem Cell Summit in NYC February 16, 2010

OrthopedicsThisWeek ”At that first meeting we said that stem cell commercialization was imminent and that sales within five years would reach $100 million. Today, five stem cell branded products are on the market, sales this year will likely exceed our estimates from five years ago and, we estimate, one in ten surgeons in the United [...]

The Influence of Head Size and Sex on the Outcome of Birmingham Hip Resurfacing

Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that although female patients initially may appear to have a greater risk of revision, this increased risk is related to differences in the femoral component size and thus is only indirectly related to sex. JBJS… http://ow.ly/VYCP

Novel Tendon Shots Offered No Benefit Over Exercise

An experimental drug-and-exercise therapy for chronic Achilles tendinopathy didn’t work in a Dutch study, researchers said. Injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with eccentric exercise gave no better results than exercise alone, according to Robert de Vos, MD, of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, and colleagues. MedPageToday… http://ow.ly/VYvE

Hanger Orthopedics Confirms Move to Austin

Hanger Orthopedics confirms move to Austin http://ow.ly/VPth Hanger accepts $2M incentive for Austin move http://ow.ly/VQyf Hanger has operations across the country, with more than 3,000 employees. Founded in 1861 by James Hanger, who was reputed to be the first Civil War amputee, it is now a publicly traded company with annual revenues of about $740 million. [...]

Salient Surgical Technologies Raises $15M

Salient Surgical Technologies of Portsmouth, NH, has raised $15 million in equity-based financing from a group of 10 unnamed investors, according to a regulatory filing published online yesterday. Established in 1999 and formerly known as Tissuelink Medical, Salient makes devices that stop bleeding and seal wounds by allowing surgeons to apply focused radio-frequency energy and [...]

Tough Times Breed Opportunity and Optimism in the New Year

As 2009 came to a close, it was evident that not much could hold back an industry with an entrepreneurial spirit and a mission to help save lives. The industry made some adjustments, and the outlook is looking more upbeat for 2010. An Emergo Group survey, for example, found that the industry is feeling [...]

Clinic Uses Stem Cells to Relieve Joint Pain

The Regenexx Procedure seems almost too easy to be true. After a necessarily frank review of the orthopedic condition and the patient’s health, the patient comes in and has local anesthesia applied via X-ray guidance for a bone marrow draw from the hip. In a Westminster lab, the stem cells are separated from the rest [...]

TranS1 Inc. Announces Appointment of Ken Reali as President and Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Reali has over 20 years of general management, sales and marketing experience with leading medical device and orthopedic companies. He joins TranS1 from Smith & Nephew where he was most recently Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Biologics and Spine Business. Prior to Smith & Nephew, Mr. Reali [...]

TranS1 Partners With Life Spine to Distribute Avatar, a New MIS Pedicle Screw System

Press Release… http://ow.ly/Ubgj

MiMedx Group, a Biomaterials Company, Raises $5M in Private Placement

MiMedx Group, Inc. is an integrated developer, manufacturer and marketer of patent protected biomaterial-based products and is in the process of transitioning from a development-focused concern to an operating company focused on sales growth and profitability The proceeds of the offering will be used to support the Company’s launch of its first product, the [...]

In 2010, Venture Capitalists Upbeat Despite a Down Decade

When the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, venture capitalists were toasting good riddance not just to 2009 but to an entire decade in which their industry as a whole lost money for its investors. Silicon Valley Mercury News… http://ow.ly/SmVl

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Calls for Changes to Traditional Orthopedic Training Programs

HSS study published in the January issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery highlights the need for changes. Work-hour restrictions and generational differences are compromising the learning experience. Changes needed to ensure quality of new orthopedic surgeons. Eurekalert… http://ow.ly/SMkP

Shu-Tung Li, Founder and CEO of Collagen Matrix, Inc. Honored as 2009 New Jersey Executive of the Year

Dr. Shu-Tung Li, the Company’s Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer was honored as New Jersey’s 2009 Executive of the Year, an award hosted by NJBIZ and presented by Amper, Politziner and Mattia, Certified Public Accountants and Consultants. In addition, Collagen Matrix, Inc. was recognized as New Jersey’s sixteenth fastest growing company in New [...]

Is the FDA Too Easy on Medical Devices?

WSJ Blog… http://ow.ly/Smvj

U.S. Hospitals With Great Orthopedic and Spine Programs According to Becker’S

Beebe Medical Center (Lewes, Del.). Bryn Mawr Hospital (Bryn Mawr, Pa.). Cooper University Hospital (Camden, N.J). Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage, Calif.). Glenbrook Hospital (Glenview, Ill.). Hospital for Special Surgery (New York). Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). na Orthopaedic Hospital (Indianapolis). Kansas Spine Hospital (Wichita, Kan.). Nebraska Orthopaedic Hospital (Omaha, Neb.). NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia (New [...]

Ossur Americas Appoints New VP of Sales and Business Development

Lou Ruggiero comes to Össur with an impressive background of leadership and ability to achieve results. He was Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at DJO (Vista, CA) from 2003-2007, where he doubled sales growth to $375 million via strategic acquisitions and double-digit organic growth. Most recently, he held the position of Chief Commercial Officer of Stereotaxis [...]

February 22, 2012

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