Earnings
CONMED reported 4Q:09 sales of $190.6 million, up 3% over the year-ago period and beating estimates by $6.0 million. Arthroscopy sales rose 3% to $75.7 million. All growth rates exclude the effects of currency. 4Q:09 EPS of $0.37 beat estimates by $0.07 and rose from $0.34 in 4Q:08.
NuVasive pre-announced full-year 2009 revenues of $370.0 million, increasing about 48% over 2008, and EPS of $0.14-$0.15. Analysts had forecast sales of $367.0 million and EPS of $0.14. Implied 4Q:09 sales were about $107.0 million, up 43% from the year-ago period and exceeding analysts' targets by about $4 million. President and CEO Alex Lukianov said in the press release that NuVasive's products "continue to gain market share as surgeon adoption expands," and he did not address XLIF reimbursement concerns.
Funding
Intralink-Spine received a Small Business Innovation Research Grant, valued at $0.75 million, from the National Institutes of Health. The company will use the funds for pre-clinical studies of its Nonsurgical EXogenous crosslink Therapy (NEXT), an "injectable treatment for low back pain."
NiCast is one of a consortium of companies who received a three-year, EUR 4.0 million ($5.6 million) grant from the EU Seventh Framework Progamme to develop a spinal disc product. NiCast says they develop "electrospun nanofabrics, biomaterials made of ultra-thin polymer fibers, with properties that mimic those of human tissues and organs."
Regulatory
Alphatec Holdings, Inc. received the CE Mark for commercial sale in the European Union and other jurisdictions for its OsseoScrew Spinal Fixation System and its Guided Lumbar Interbody Fusion (GLIF) System/Arc Portal System. The receipt of the CE Mark allows Alphatec Spine to begin selling these implants in the European Union and certain other jurisdictions that recognize the CE Mark for commercial approval. The OsseoScrew Spinal Fixation System is an innovative concept in pedicle screw fixation. The OsseoScrew provides three points of fixation: the pedicle, the transverse/superior facet and the junction of the anterior pedicle and vertebral body. The Guided Lumbar Interbody Fusion (GLIF) technique and ARC Portal Access System is designed to provide surgeons with trans-psoas access and direct visualization to the intervertebral disc space while allowing the patient to remain in a prone position during lumbar interbody fusion procedures.
RSB Spine received 510(k) clearance for its InterPlate C-PS and L-PS Interbody Spacers, the latest additions to the company's line of zero-profile devices.
Intellectual Property
BioMimetic Therapeutics announced that the European Patent Office intends to grant patent application No. 05803356 covering "Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Compositions and Methods of Use Thereof." The patent will cover Augment and GEMESIS, formerly GEM 21S, which was sold to Luitpold for dental applications. The new patent expires in 2025.
Operations
Pioneer Surgical Technology announced plans to open a new office in Austin, Texas on April 1. The company says the new office "provides Pioneer greater recruiting access to industry professionals who will help further the growth and development of Pioneer's Spine Division . . . [and] greater strategic access to key spine markets." Pioneer is headquartered in Marquette, MI and has offices in Raleigh and Greenville, North Carolina, Woburn, Massachusetts and the Netherlands.
Supply and Distribution Agreements
Misonix announced that Neuro Orthopaedics Surgeries would be the exclusive Brazilian distributor for the company's SonaStar Ultrasonic Surgical Aspirator and BoneScalpel Ultrasonic Bone Cutter. The three-year agreement includes minimum purchasing requirements. Misonix adds that this marks their eighth distributor in Latin America.
Smith & Nephew announced that their Endoscopy Division received a three-year contract with HealthTrust Purchasing Group to supply DYONICS arthroscopic shaver blades to HealthTrust's 1,400 member hospitals.
Education
Zimmer announced its continuing support for the OMeGA Medical Grants Association, pledging $2.2 million in funding for the 2010-2011 academic year. The company also committed a minimum of $2.0 million for 2011-2012. The press release describes OMeGA as a "third-party administrator for graduate medical education."
