4 Issues Driving the Future of Orthopedics According to the AAOS Surgeons Council on Advocacy

4 Issues Which Will Shape the Future of Orthopedics (AAOS) 1. The development of appropriate use criteria. 2. Medical liability reform 3. Influx of newly insured patients 4. Phasing out fee-for-service compensation models

$12M Grant to Start Nationwide Registry of Total Joint Patients

$12 Million Grant to Improve Joint Replacement Surgery Outcomes (HealthNewsDigest)

AAOS Guideline Finds No Evidence for Vertebroplasty

Vertebroplasty: New Guideline Finds No Evidence for a Popular Back Procedure (ScienceDaily) AAOS approved and released a clinical practice guideline, which found a strong recommendation against a popular procedure called vertebroplasty as a way to treat fractures in the spine.

Scripps Researchers Receive NIH Grant to Study Smart Knee

Scripps Researchers Receive NIH Grant to Study Smart Knee (Scripps Health)

Frank Reynolds Says His Company Will Enable Spinal Injury Patients Walk Again

Founder of start-up says device will one day change treatment of spinal cord injuries (Boston.com) Reynolds company will try to commercialize a scaffold-like implant that seems to protect the tissue of the damaged spinal cord, Reynolds says, and then foster “neuroplasticity,’’ the nervous system’s ability to reorganize itself around the site of an injury and [...]

Public Debate of Off-Label Use of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs)

Experts publicly debate on- and off-label use of BMPs at Medicare coverage meeting (OrthoSuperSite)

Orthopedic Implants of the Future Made of Titanium Foam

Titanium Foams Replace Injured Bones (ScienceDaily) Flexible yet rigid like a human bone, and immediately capable of bearing loads: A new kind of implant, made of titanium foam, resembles the inside of a bone in terms of its structural configuration. Not only does this make it less stiff than conventional massive implants. It also promotes [...]

Orthovita Publishes Its Vertebroplasty Clinical Data With Cortoss

Orthovita Announces Publication of 24-Month Data from Cortoss Clinical Pilot Studies in Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty (Press Release) Cortoss IDE Data Published in Spine (HealthPointCapital) Patients reported immediate pain relief from vertebroplasty, with average VAS scores decreasing from 75.7 before surgery to 35.9 at 72 hours, and improvements were maintained through two-year follow-up.

Mesoblast and Angioblast Systems Agree to Merge Creating the Largest Largest Publicly-Listed Adult Stem Cell Developer in the World

+   Mesoblast shareholders agree to merger (Sydney Morning Herold)

50 Medical Device Companies to Watch

50 Companies to Watch – MD+DI shines a light on notable companies (MDDI)

Amedica Acquires US Spine for Undisclosed Amount

Amedica® Corporation Acquires US Spine, Further Securing Its Leadership Position in the Spinal Device Marketplace (Press Release)

Dgimed Ortho Is Looking for $2M to Further Develop Their Distal Targeting Nail Device That Does Not Rely on Imaging

Minnesota orthopedics firm seeks $2 million (MedCityNews)

Latest Spine Startup casualty… Applied Spine Is Out of Business

Gerbsman Parnters is handling the Asset Sale.  Bids are due Oct 15.  Asset Sale Details here Startup Losers in 2010/2009

Medtronic Is Opportunistically Buying Companies

Weak economy aids Medtronic’s acquisition strategy (MedCityNews) Medtronic is using its considerable cash hoard to buy nine companies since 2009, including ATS Medical Inc. and CoreValv Inc. Medtronic also holds minority stakes in 60 companies — a total investment of $320 million. Feeding Medtronic’s appetite is a weak economy that has depressed company valuations and [...]

Top 10 Orthopedic Procedures With the Most Problems

A few procedures account for most adverse events after orthopedic surgery (OrthoSuperSite) Top ten procedures that account for 70% of the adverse events:   Hip fracture (19%) Total knee arthroplasty (18%) Total hip arthroplasty (11%) Revision THA (5%) Knee arthroscopy (5%) Laminectomy (4%) Lumbar/thoracic arthrodesis (2%) Femoral fracture repair (2%) Revision knee arthroplasty (2%) Ankle [...]

Nothing Wrong With FDA’S Current 510(k) Program According to AdvaMed

AdvaMed: The 510(k) program is just fine as is (MassDevice) “remarkably safe”..  less than 1 percent of devices cleared since 1998 were involved in Class I recalls

Medtronic Launches the Kyphon Cement System for Vertebral Compression Fractures in Europe

Medtronic launches cement delivery system for balloon kyphoplasty in Europe (OrthoSuperSite)

New Life and New Owners for HydroCision

HydroCision Announces New Investment to Accelerate Growth of Novel Fluidjet Technology for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (Press Release) New funds will be focused on clinical efficacy and economic benefits in the US.

An Introduction to Kahghui… a Growing Orthopedic Company in the Emerging Chinese Market

Kanghui Holdings: A Bright and Shining Star in the IPO Market (Seeking Alpha)

New Study Finds That Many Highly Paid Med Device Consultants Fail to Reveal Their Financial Connections in Journal Articles

Medical Industry Ties Often Undisclosed in Journals (NYTimes) Nearly half the surgeons who made at least $1M in payments from orthopedic device companies did not have that relationship published in their scientific articles.

RTI Licenses Athersys Proprietary Stem Cell Technology

RTI Biologics and Athersys Announce Collaboration in the Orthopedic Market (Press Release) Under the agreement, Athersys will receive a $3 million license fee and is also eligible to receive payments up to a cumulative total of $37.5 million as follows: $2 million contingent upon successful achievement of certain development and commercialization milestones, and an additional [...]

ConMed Makes the Case for a Permanent Federal R&D Tax Credit

VIDEO:  ConMed pushes for permanent R & D tax credit (WKTV)

FDA Is Raising Medical Device User Fees by 8.5% for 510(k) and PMA’S

The Food & Drug Administration boosts the user fees medical device firms must pay to apply for 510(k) or pre-market approval from the federal watchdog agency (MassDevice)

Ranier Technology Raises $8M to Commercialize the Cadisc-L in Europe

Ranier Technology secures £5m funding to commercialise its Cadisc™ spinal discs implants (Press Release) Ranier will use the funding from its existing investors to commercialise its Cadisc-L in Europe.

BMPs Are Used Off-Label in 85% of Cases

BMPs Used Off-Label in 85% of Cases (HealthPointCapital)

RTI Biologics and Zimmer Dental Enter Biologics Distribution Agreement

RTI Biologics and Zimmer Dental Enter Distribution Agreement for Global Biologic Implants (RTI)

Medtronic Looking for ‘opportunistic’ Acquisitions Up to $1B

Medtronic to Seek ‘Opportunistic’ Deals, CEO Says (Bloomberg)

Amedica Grabs $30M in Financing for Expansion, Mergers and Acquisitions, Sales and Marketing Support

Amedica Closes $30 Million Financing (Press Release)

FDA Releases Its Annual Performance Review for 2009

FDA’s Office of Device Evaluation releases 2009 review (MassDevice) Full PDF Report

FDA Clears Ascension’S Titanium Total Shoulder

Ascension Orthopedics Receives FDA Approval for TITAN™ Modular Total Shoulder System (Press Release)

Zimmer Acquires Global Rights to Acentus Medical’S Anti-Infection Silver Coatings

Accentus Medical Signs Global Licence Agreement with Zimmer (Press Release)

1st Spine Fusion Reversal in the US Is Performed by Dr. Kenneth Light

Doctor Performs First Spine Fusion Reversal In US (KSAT)

Mazor to Enter US Market With Combination Robot and 3D Imaging System

Mazor to Market Combined SpineAssist, 3D Imaging System (HealthPointCapital)

MicroPort Scientific to Develop MIS Spine Procedures for China

MicroPort Scientific Said to Seek $150 Million in Hong Kong IPO (BusinessWeek) www.MicroPort.com MicroPort currently sells minimally invasive devices to more than 1,100 hospitals across China.

February 22, 2012

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