Earnings
Biomet reported F4Q:10 sales of $703.0 million, up 8% over the year-ago period. Dental increased by 2% during the quarter, with growth of 4% in the U.S. Growth rates exclude the effects of currency.
M&A
Discus Dental acquired Zap Lasers, a manufacturer of soft tissue lasers. The two companies have had a distribution agreement in place since October of 2009, and Discus says the acquisition will allow the company to expand distribution into "key countries" Korea and Taiwan as well as assume leadership of Zap's R&D and cost reduction programs. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Funding
BioHorizons, Inc. announced that it has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. Piper Jaffray & Co. and Jefferies & Company, Inc. will act as joint book-running managers of the offering. Canaccord Genuity and Cowen and Company will act as co-managers for the offering.
Product Introduction and Update
Swiss dental implant manufacturer Euroteknika introduced the Universal + implant system in the U.K. The product is priced to be affordable for patients under the NHS, which typically does not cover dental implants.
Planet DDS introduced an application called AppointNow, a web-based platform that connects patients to an agent who collects their health information and books their dental appointment in real time.
Clinical
Market research conducted in the U.K. shows that Britons lose an average of two teeth during their lifetime. 20% of the population are missing five teeth or more, and while tooth loss tends to correlate to age, nearly 25% of Britons between 18 and 24 have at least one missing tooth.
Operations
3M is closing an Oklahoma plant used by its Espe dental products unit. Operations will be relocated to Irvine, California and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Appointments
Fibrocell Science, which is developing autologous fibroblast therapies for dental and a number of additional applications, named Nicolas Elian, D.D.S., William K. Boss, M.D. and Daniel D. Lozano, M.D. as advisors to the company. Drs. Elian and Boss have collaborated to investigate the company's technology for periodontics and reconstructive dentistry, concluding that Fibrocell's technology "may be well suited for periodontal applications such as treating recessive gums, preparing soft gum tissue for dental implants and preserving tooth extraction sockets." Dr. Lozano specializes in burn cases, and the company says he will "provide guidance . . . for evaluating the company's fibroblast technology in skin repair following burn damage."
