Musculoskeletal News Roundup 12-July-07
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, JULY 12, 2007
M&A
Biomet Inc. shareholders accepted an $11.4 billion buyout offer from a private equity consortium attempting to acquire the medical device maker. The consortium, LVB Acquisition LLC, announced Thursday that nearly 83 percent of Biomet's shares were tendered. The company needed at least 75 percent for the deal to go forward. The offer expired midnight Wednesday.
Earnings
Biomet reported 4Q:07 earnings of $41.5 million, or $0.17 per share, down from $100.4 million, or $0.41 per share in the comparable quarter. Excluding special items and compensation expenses, earnings were $0.39 cents per share, missing estimates of $0.49 per share. Net sales totaled $549.4 million, up from $539.0 million last year but missing estimates of $573.0 million. Reconstructive sales fell 8% overall, but hip and extremity were up 7% and 13%, respectively. Sales of spinal implants and orthobiologics for the spine increased 7%, while spinal stimulation sales decreased 34%. Fixation sales decreased by 22%.
Funding
TissueLink Medical Inc. completed a Series E financing totaling $20.0 million. Current investors Arnerich Massena & Associates and RiverVest Venture Partners led the round. The company plans to use the funds to expand its sales and marketing organization, further develop its products and fund its working capital requirements.
Product Introduction & Update
Biomet announced that 2,000 U.S. surgeons have been trained on the Oxford® Partial Knee, which the company calls the "only true mobile bearing partial knee" approved by the FDA. Biomet adds that the Oxford knee has shown long-term clinical results of 98% success at 10 years follow-up, 95% success rate at 15 years and 92% success reported at 20 years.
DePuy Mitek launched the VAPR® S50 Radiofrequency Electrode, a small-diameter suction electrode. The device uses radiofrequency energy to smoothe jagged tissue resulting from the removal of soft tissue in the knee or shoulder.
Custom Spine received FDA clearance for its ISSYS LP Low Profile Polyaxial Screw System. Based on the ISSYS platform, the company said in a press release that its latest system is designed to "provide better force distribution and resistance to screw failure at the bone-screw interface."
INBONE Technologies announced the U.S. launch of the INBONE™ Fusion System, which offers intramedullary fixation for the foot.
Regeneration Technologies will launch the BioCleanse® meniscus at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) annual meeting in Calgary, Alberta, Canada this week. In their press release, the company says that the product is the "first wholly sterilized meniscus allograft on the market, meaning both the bone block and meniscal tissue are sterilized."
Smith & Nephew released their JOURNEY™ DEUCE™ Bi-Compartmental Knee System this week. The JOURNEY DEUCE Knee System preserves the cruciate ligaments in a TKA. The device replaces only the two areas of the knee most commonly affected by osteoarthritis and leaves the third intact.
Dental
Henry Schein Medical Systems announced that its practice management program, MicroMD® PM, was ranked #2 in the Ambulatory Billing and Scheduling category for medical groups of 1-5 physicians in June's KLAS Mid-Year Top 20 Report.
License Agreements
Spinal Restoration and Baxter Healthcare Corporation entered into an exclusive, long-term partnership to develop and commercialize Biostat BIOLOGX™ Fibrin Sealant. The sealant will be part of Spinal Restoration’s new biologic therapy for chronic low back pain. Baxter’s fibrin sealant will be combined with Spinal Restoration’s technologies to create the Biostat™ Disc Augmentation System, a minimally invasive product designed to treat the degeneration of intervertebral discs.
Appointment
KFx Medical appointed Dr. Ronald A. Navarro to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Navarro is Chief of the Department of Orthopaedics and Director of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine at Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center in Harbor City, California and will become Assistant to the Medical Director of the same South Bay Medical Center in charge of Surgical Services in January 2008. Additionally, Dr. Navarro has authored a number of articles on knee and shoulder surgery in athletes.
Interventional Spine appointed Todd M. Clearwater Senior Vice President of Sales. He will oversee the building and expansion of sales activities in the U.S. Previously, Mr. Clearwater was the Regional Sales Manager for Kyphon, Inc. He has also held various sales management positions within the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.
