Musculoskeletal News Roundup 3-Dec-09
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, DECEMBER 3, 2009
M&A
Stryker entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ascent Healthcare Solutions, a medical device reprocessing company, for $525.0 million in cash. Ascent describes its operations as including the "cleaning, testing/verifying, packaging and sterilizing" or devices, as well as "remanufacturing," which the company defines as "disassembling, repairing and manufacturing." Ascent had around $100 million in revenues in 2008. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.
TiGenix closed its acquisition of Orthomimetics. First announced on November 16th, the all-stock transaction was valued at EUR 16.0 million ($23.7 million). Orthomimetics is developing a scaffold for tissue regeneration comprised of collagen, glycosaminoglycans and calcium phosphate, while TiGenix recently launched ChondroCelect, an ACI product.
Funding
AxioMed Spine completed the first part of a Series C financing round, raising $6.4 million from unnamed investors to support development of the company's Freedom lumbar and cervical discs and expand operations, including hiring 15 additional employees. The total round is expected to be raise $18.5 million.
MiMedx announced plans for a $10.0 million funding round, with $5.0 million to be raised by year-end. The company will use the funds to commercialize a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer designed to protect against scar-tissue formation after surgery as well as develop a proprietary collagen-based fiber that enables a patient to "achieve healthy tissue reconstruction without major scarring."
Product Introduction and Update
Pre-clinical data on Ellipse Technologies, Inc.'s MAGEC System for the treatment of early-onset scoliosis found that MAGEC offered a "safe and effective way to remotely distract the spine." The data was presented at the International Congress on Early Onset Scoliosis and Growing Spine in Istanbul, Turkey.
MAKO Surgical Corp. introduced the Lateral Unicompartmental Knee Resurfacing Application for its RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System. Already available are unicompartmental and bicompartmental knee applications targeting the medial and patellofemoral compartments.
Osteotech announced that their Plexur M has been approved for use by 50 U.S. hospitals, and the company is anticipating up to 25 additional approvals by the end of the year. Plexur M is a moldable bone graft substitute that consists of a bioresorbable polymer and cortical bone fibers.
Stryker recalled 23 of its Operating Room System II Surgical Navigation Systems due to concerns about the navigation component slowing or freezing. No injuries were reported, and as of October 30th, all domestic units were repaired.
Intellectual Property
Applied Spine Technologies received a U.S. patent covering "mounting mechanisms for pedicle screws and related assemblies." The company says the patent "enables intraoperative assembly onto a pedicle screw for stabilization of the spine."
Legal
An appeals court reversed an earlier patent infringement judgment in favor of Arthrex, against whom Smith & Nephew had filed a claim of infringement regarding a tissue anchor. The case will proceed to a new trial.
A former vice president for Market Development at DePuy International Ltd. was charged in the U.K. with conspiracy to corrupt connected to allegations of bribing medical professionals working in the Greek public health care system. The activity allegedly took place between February 2002 and December 2005.
Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, a sports medicine clinic in Los Angeles, California, agreed to pay the U.S. government $3.0 million to settle allegations that it received kickbacks from HealthSouth for patient referrals.
Wright Medical received a favorable summary judgment in a patent infringement case initially filed in 2000 by Stryker subsidiary Howmedica. Howmedica claimed that Wright Medical's ADVANCE knee infringed a Howmedica patient, though a U.S. District court has ruled that the patent is invalid. Stryker may appeal or the case will be concluded.
