Musculoskeletal News Roundup 29-12-11
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, DECEMBER 29, 2011
Funding
KSpine raised $2.5 million in its second round of financing. The company is developing a less-invasive surgical treatment for scoliosis, and they said the funding would be used to support clinical trials for the device.
Clinical
A special online supplement of JBJS outlined the efforts of the International Consortium of Orthopaedic Registries (ICOR), which was established by the FDA in October 2010. The press release states that ICOR is in the process of "developing a collaborative process for improving the safety of orthopedic devices" using outcomes registries from the U.S. and other countries. The group is currently working on developing a unified method for analyzing and reporting multinational registry data.
Legal
Synthes filed a lawsuit against Stryker, claiming Stryker seeks to obtain "an improper competitive advantage" by poaching members of its San Francisco sales force. The sales representatives resigned between August and October 2011 and immediately began working for Stryker. The claim also accuses three former sales employees of misappropriating trade secrets and breaching their contractual and fiduciary obligations to the company.
Distribution
Anika Therapeutics signed an exclusive multi-year U.S. licensing and supply agreement with DePuy Mitek for Anika's MONOVISC, a single-injection hyaluronic acid treatment for OA of the knee. Anika will receive an initial payment of $2.5 million for entering into the agreement in addition to future milestone payments. MONOVISC is currently awaiting FDA approval and is sold in Canada as well as certain European and Middle Eastern countries.
Operations
RTI Biologics announced that the company was recognized in the 2011 fourth edition of Evolution magazine for achieving a 98.7% equipment performance rating for its facilities and processing equipment. Evolution magazine is published by SKF Group, a company that provides condition monitoring to RTI. The company transitioned to a condition-based processing facility in 2007, which they describe as offering predictive tools that alert staff as to when equipment failure may occur, allowing it to be repaired at a time that will minimize workflow disruptions.
