Musculoskeletal News Roundup 9-Jul-09
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, JULY 9, 2009
Earnings
Exactech announced that 2Q:09 revenues would be approximately $43.0 million, below earlier guidance and analyst expectations of approximately $45.0 million. The range for full-year 2009 revenue guidance has also been lowered to $167-$173 million. The company attributed 2Q's sales performance to slowing industry growth rates, which affected the company's knee sales. Exactech added that earnings would also be below projections. Full results will be available on July 28.
M&A
Synovis Life Technologies agreed to an all-cash transaction to acquire Pegasus Biologics. Synovis will pay $12.1 million for the company, which had $9.1 million in sales in 2008. In May, Pegasus closed a $1.05 million private placement from Affinity Capital Management, and over the past few years the company has raised over $30 million from investors including Affinity, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Onset Ventures and Three Arch Partners. Among Pegasus' products is the collagen-based OrthADAPT Bioimplant soft tissue scaffold. The acquisition, which emerged from a closed bidding process, is expected to close later this month.
Funding
Relievant Medsystems closed a $20.0 million Series C funding round led by Morgenthaler Ventures, who were jointed by existing investors Canaan Partners and ONSET Ventures and new investor Emergent Medical Partners. Funds will be used to support clinical research and the launch of the Intracept System, which uses radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of low back pain.
Licensing
Alphatec Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Alphatec Spine, Inc., has entered into an agreement with International Spinal Innovations, LLC, pursuant to which International Spinal Innovations will provide Alphatec Spine worldwide license rights to intellectual property related to a stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) device. The International Spinal Innovations license, combined with intellectual property previously acquired from SpineVision S.A., will allow Alphatec Spine to develop and commercialize a zero-profile, self-locking interbody device for both ALIF and cervical procedures.
Product Introduction and Update
CONMED launched the Linvatec Shoulder Restoration System for rotator cuff repair, which the company says "supports multiple surgical techniques, facilitates secure reconstruction and provides optimal tissue tensioning that leads to successful clinical outcomes." According to the company, the system offers surgeons the flexibility to choose between single row, double row and transosseous equivalent fixation.
Mazor announced that its SpineAssist surgical robot had been used for the first time in a procedure on the cervical spine in Germany. The system had been used previously to treat conditions of the thoracic and lumbar spine.
VG Innovations announced that the VerteLoc Minimally Invasive Spine Stabilization system has now been implanted in more than 500 patients in the U.S. VerteLoc is designed to treat back pain by stabilizing the facet joints.
Clinical
Clinical data on curasan's Curavisc was unveiled at a German orthopedic surgery conference last week. Researchers found that applying Curavisc to the knee joint immediately following arthroplasty may reduce pain and result in earlier mobility and load-bearing capacity.
Operations
According to a report in the Memphis Daily News, Medtronic plans to lay off up to 56 people at the company's Tennessee facility beginning in August. These details follow a previous announcement in May that Medtronic would reduce its workforce by 1,500 to 1,800 people worldwide to streamline operations.
