Hospital Capital Expenditures Continue to Improve

Hospital Capital Expenditures Continue to Improve (HealthPointCapital) Hospital Capital Expenditures Continue to Improve by Sander Duncan @ HealthPointCapital Hospital capital expenditures are a leading indicator of hospital profitability, financial health and overall purchasing ability. During tough times, hospitals scale back on equipment purchases and facilities expansion — sometimes dramatically. During the 2008 liquidity crisis, draconian [...]

Greatbatch Building New $17M Facility in Fort Wayne to Make Orthopedic Instruments

Greatbatch Medical Building New Plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana (Area Development) Orthopedics supplier drawn by workforce (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette) Greatbatch Medical, a maker of surgical orthopedic products and medical instruments, has selected Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a new facility that will create 76 jobs. The company will begin building the facility in the spring [...]

OrthoSensor Ushers in a New Category – Smart Implants to Monitor Early Signs of Infection, Bone Ingrowth and Other Problems

OrthoSensor’s ‘RoboCop’ Tech Opens Up New Orthopedic Vistas (WSJ) OrthoSensor, Intelligent Orthopedic Device Innovator, Secures $21 MM Series B Financing (press release) The Future of Orthopedics is Smart Implants OrthoSensor’s products are disposable, sensor-enabled devices that provide quantitative, intra-operative feedback to surgeons to help ensure the proper balance and alignment of orthopedic implants. These intelligent devices [...]

iWalk Raises $15M in Series C to Further Develop an Active Prosthetic Foot

iWalk Before You iRun: MIT Prosthetics Startup Ramps Up Operations With New VC Money (Xconomy) http://www.iwalkpro.com/

5 Statistics on the Orthopedic Surgeon Workforce

5 Statistics on the Orthopedic Surgeon Workforce (Becker) 1. There were 25,464 orthopedic surgeons in the United States in 2008. 2. The highest number of practicing orthopedic surgeons practiced in California (2,569), followed by Texas (1,418), New York (1,343), Florida (1,274) and Illinois (816). 3. Forty-six percent of orthopedists practice as specialists, while 24 percent [...]

Arthrex Acquires Cardo Medical’S Total Joint Assets

Cardo Medical, Inc. and Arthrex, Inc. Announce Signing Definitive Agreement for the Sale of All of the Assets of Cardo Medical, Inc.’s Joint Arthroplasty Division (press release) Reinhold Schmieding commented, “The reconstructive joint products developed by the talented Cardo Medical team will be an exciting addition to our existing sports medicine portfolio. We are thrilled [...]

Arthrex Is Expanding Facilities and Workforce in Naples

Arthrex poised to expand work force in Southwest Florida (news-press.com)

FDA Announces 510(k) Changes

FDA Announces 510(k) Changes (HealthPointCapital) FDA to improve most common review path for medical devices (FDA) 510(K) AND SCIENCE REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS: SUMMARY AND OVERVIEW OF COMMENTS AND NEXT STEPS (FDA) FDA will implement 25 actions during 2011 to improve the 510(k) review process for medical devices. Key actions include: Streamlining the “de novo” review [...]

A Glimpse Into the Future of Fracture Repair – an Injectable Biologic Putty

Astonishing Fracture Repair From DARPA (OTW) The researchers, led by doctors Mauro Ferrari and Ennio Tasciotti, with the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, Houston, Texas, came up with an idea that could change orthopaedic surgery. Using a chemical called polypropylene fumarate they created a putty that, when applied to a broken bone, solidifies and works like [...]

3 Medtronic Spine Surgeons Sue Each Other for Rights to $60M in Royalties

Spine surgeons fighting over future royalties (Corrier-Journal) Three Louisville spine surgeons have had a falling out over as much as $60 million in future royalty payments from medical device maker Medtronic. Dr. John R. Johnson, co-director of the Norton Leatherman Spine Center, says in a lawsuit that the other two surgeons reneged on a [...]

S+N Statement: Will Start Informal Negotiations With Biomet

Smith & Nephew Says It’s Not in Talks to Be Bought or Make an Acquisition (Bloomberg) Smith & Nephew’s Tantalizing Silence (WSJ) S&N rejected $11 billion bid approach from J&J: report (UK Reuters) S&N urged to reveal details of J&J bid (HealthInvestor) Smith & Nephew Rebuffs JNJ Bid (HealthPointCapital) Commentary from HealthPointCapital… Smith & [...]

Bill Hawkins Predicts “Mild pain” After the FDA’S 510(k) Overhaul

Medtronic’s Hawkins: 510(k) changes to be ‘neutral to slightly negative’ (MedCityNews) Outgoing Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Chief Executive Bill Hawkins is predicting only mild pain when the federal government unveils changes to the 510(k) rules governing approval for most medical devices.

Globus Acquires Facet Solutions for Undisclosed Amount

Globus Medical Announces the Acquisition of Facet Solutions Inc. (press release)

How to Increase Surgeon Adoption of Your Medical Devices

How to Increase Surgeon Adoption of Your Medical Devices (OrthoSpineNews) 28%. This is the statistic derived from one of the largest medical device companies signifying the number of surgeons who adopted the product after going to the manufacturer’s surgeon training. In other words, almost three out of every four surgeons did not adopt the technology. [...]

Promotions in Orthopedics

Orthofix promotes CFO Vaters to new role of COO (press release) Orthofix said Tuesday it promoted Robert Vaters toCOO. Vaters had been CFO since September 2008, when he joined the company. Orthofix appointed Brian McCollum as its interim CFO. He is the company’s senior vice president of finance. The Dutch company did not have a [...]

Wright Medical Signs Bone Graft Distribution Deal With AlloSource

Wright Medical signs bone graft distribution deal with AlloSource (press release) Wright Medical Group, a global orthopaedic medical device company, today announced a supply and distribution agreement with AlloSource for FUSIONFLEX™ Bone Matrix, a unique bone repair scaffold for use in primary fusion procedures of the foot and ankle, as well as other orthopaedic bone [...]

Interface Biologics Naps $7M in Funding

Interface Biologics Announces $7M Financing (press release) nterface Biologics Inc. (IBI), a privately held commercial stage developer of transformative biomedical-polymer products, is pleased to announce the completion of a $7M series B financing, led by Business Development Bank of Canada in conjunction with Covington Capital and VG Partners.

Medtech Giants Are on the Hunt for Acquisitions

Med-tech’s giants go on hunt for deals: Medtronic and other leaders turn to acquisitions as they seek their next blockbuster products (Star Tribune – Minn) An Ernst & Young report released last fall said “strategic buyers have become much more risk averse and are increasingly interested in buying assets that have already gained market acceptance [...]

Joe DeVivo Tries to Justify S+N’S New Corporate Headquarters in Memphis

Amenities designed into Smith & Nephew’s headquarters fit its culture (Memphis Business Journal)

Consensus Orthopedics Partners With Chinese Firm to Make Hips & Knees for China

China Kanghui Holdings and Consensus Orthopedics Form Exclusive Partnership to Address Joint Reconstruction Market (press release) El Dorado orthopedic implant company signs marketing agreement with Chinese firm (Sacramento Bee)

Interview With Marc Viscogliosi of Viscogliosi Brothers

Orthopedic Device Trends: Q&A With Marc Viscogliosi of Viscogliosi Brothers (Beckers) Q: Tell me about the background of VB. It must be interesting working with your brothers on a daily basis. Q: When considering a product or company to invest in what do you look for? Q: What types of products and solutions are most [...]

Graftys Secures Funding to Develop Resorbable Biologic Materials for Orthopedic Applications

Graftys Completes Third Round of Financing for 4 Million Euros ($5,3 Million), and Adds a New Financial Partner (press release) Graftys, founded in 2005, is based in Aix en Provence and Nantes (France) and has opened a local office in Chicago in 2009. The Graftys team (23 employees) develops, manufactures and markets biomaterials and biotechnologies [...]

CEO Transition at TranS1

TranS1 Announces CEO Transition (press release) Ken Reali moves to CEO after joining as COO one year ago.

The 1st Baby Boomers Turn 65

First Baby Boomers Turn 65 (HealthPointCapital by LAUREN UZDIENSKI) On January 1, the first of the Baby Boom generation turned 65, reaching Medicare eligibility and portending growth in medtech consumption. Along with technological advancements and expansion into international markets, the aging of the Baby Boomers has been cited as growth driver for the musculoskeletal industry. According [...]

8 Reasons for Orthopedic and Spine Surgeons to Be Optimistic About 2011

8 Reasons for Orthopedic and Spine Surgeons to be Optimistic About 2011 (Beckers) 1. Increased physician input in healthcare legislation. 2. More patients mean increased job security. 3. Technology is trending toward minimally invasive techniques. 4. Biologics provides new opportunities. 5. Improved relationships between hospitals and surgeons. 6. Better quality of life for surgeons. 7. [...]

Kensey Nash Makes Equity Investment in Orteq Sports Medicine

Kensey Nash Announces a Manufacturing Agreement with and Minority Investment in Orteq Sports Medicine (press release) After Orteq gains IDE approval, Kensey Nash will have invested $5M for 10% of Orteq and WW distribution rights.

FDA Drops Warning Letter on S+N Regarding Manufacturing Practices of Ceramics in Germany

Smith & Nephew Receives FDA Warning (OTW) S+N received a warning letter from the FDA said the company’s R3 Ceramic Acetabular Systems, manufactured in Tuttlingen, Germany, are not in conformity with the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) requirements.

Senators Are Attacking Medtronic Regarding Use of Hydrosorb at Walter Reed

2 Senators Raise Questions on Use of Medtronic Device (NYTimes)

February 22, 2012