CONMED Corporation Partners With the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation for Sports Medicine Applications (press release)
CONMED Corporation (NASDAQ: CNMD) and the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF), the world’s largest tissue bank, have announced that CONMED’s subsidiary, CONMED Linvatec, will serve as the exclusive world-wide marketing representative for MTF’s sports medicine allograft tissues. Additionally, CONMED Linvatec will assume responsibility for the world-wide distribution of MTF’s Cascade Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) product, which uses a patient’s own blood components to aid in the healing process.
Sports medicine arthroscopy is CONMED’s largest single product franchise, comprising approximately 40% of the Company’s sales. CONMED is an industry leader, providing a full range of surgical solutions for the repair of soft tissue injuries usually caused by sports activities. MTF is dedicated to providing quality allograft tissue through a commitment to excellence in education, research, recovery, and care for recipients, donors and their families. It is a national consortium comprised of academic medical institutions, organ procurement organizations and tissue recovery organizations. It is committed to delivering the highest level of service to donors and their families, as well as recipients and surgeons.
The long-term agreement is effective on January 3, 2012. MTF will provide CONMED a portion of its service revenue for the activities associated with educating and consulting with surgeons and medical facilities. CONMED’s portion of the service revenue is expected to be accretive to 2012 earnings by approximately $0.15 – $0.18 per share. CONMED will make certain payments to MTF over the next four years for the rights to promote MTF sports tissues, based on particular levels of tissue supply being maintained.
“We are pleased to enter this alliance with CONMED Linvatec,” said Mr. Bruce Stroever, President and Chief Executive Officer of the MTF. “We are impressed with their commitment to educating medical professionals in the latest sports medicine repair techniques, the breadth of their product line and their significant leadership position in the industry.”
“We are excited to work side-by-side with MTF in educating the medical community about allograft tissue for sports medicine applications,” stated Mr. Joseph J. Corasanti, President and CEO of CONMED Corporation. “MTF is the premier source for allografts. When coupled with the full range of CONMED’s surgical devices, we will offer orthopedic surgeons the most complete range of sports medicine repair options in the industry. This agreement should serve to advance our already strong position within sports medicine, as well as provide a significant boost to our long-term sales and earnings.”
In accordance with MTF’s commitment to the stewardship of the donated gift, the organization will maintain full responsibility for all activities related to donor suitability, quality acceptance, processing, storage, and distribution of the tissue, as well as reimbursement of service fees related to the sports medicine allografts. CONMED Linvatec’s team of surgical representatives will serve as the educational resource to surgeons and facilities concerning the suitability of MTF allografts for ligament reconstruction, cartilage repair and meniscal transplantation, as well as for biologic solutions, including scaffolds and fixation devices. Upon the close of the agreement, the current 35 employees of the MTF sports medicine marketing and surgical consultant group will become employees of CONMED Linvatec.
CONMED profile CONMED is a medical technology company with an emphasis on surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures and patient monitoring. The Company’s products serve the clinical areas of arthroscopy, powered surgical instruments, electrosurgery, cardiac monitoring disposables, endosurgery and endoscopic technologies. They are used by surgeons and physicians in a variety of specialties including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery and gastroenterology. Headquartered in Utica, New York, the Company’s 3,400 employees distribute its products worldwide from several manufacturing locations.