Get Our Free Research Email
Conference Calendar 
May 20-23 - Current Concepts in Joint Replacement Spring 2012
May 23-25 - 13th EFORT Congress 2012
Complete Calendar »
|
Sports Medicine
aap, Corin, Mazor, TiGenix provide 1Q sales ... Regenerative Sciences raises $2M ... Regentis Biomaterials raises $10M ... Zyga raises $25M ... Axiomed receives CE mark for Freedom Cervical Disc ... Orthopaedic Implant Company launches pedicle screw system ... DOJ closes InFuse investigation ... Histogenics, Piramal announce cartilage repair data more
Use of fibrin sealant QUIXIL in TKAs ... The accuracy of imaging in spine surgery ... ACL revision data from Denmark ... Ankle surgery and weight loss ... More surgeons working for hospitals more
Biomet kicks off earnings season ... FDA approves phase I Arteriocyte study for Compartment Syndrome ... Piramal receives CE mark for BST-CarGel ... Amedica announces new biologics distribution agreements ... Advanced Biologics inks deal with GPO Premier more
Cemented vs. uncemented hip hemiarthroplasty ... Returning to running after hip resurfacing surgery ... Adipose-derived stem cells in skeletal muscle-healing in a rat model ... Cortoss IDE results in vertebroplasty ... Patterns of disc degeneration ... Are local anesthetics associated with chondrotoxicity? more
Mazor reports earnings .... Omni Surgical raises $27M ... Relievant Medsystems raises $30M ... FDA warning letters for Lucero Medical, Orthopedic Alliance and Spinal Solutions ... Benvenue Medical launches Blazer Vertebral Augmentation System ... Aperion Biologics completes enrollment in Z-Lig ACL study ... Benvenue Medical announces enrollment of 250th patient in KAST (Kiva System) study ... Ascendx Spine inks distribution deal in Austria, Germany and Switzerland more
Defining conservative treatment in VCF cases ... Obesity and large joint outcomes ... Optimizing TKR rehab ... Navigation in TKR ... A review of PRP data ... Predicting recovery of walking ability in hip fracture patients more
Studies have shown that women may be up to five times more susceptible to ACL tears than men. Since that trend surfaced, researchers have been speculating as to the cause, and potential reasons included more laxity in the ligament or that women have weaker or smaller ligaments compared to men. Now a new paper suggests that geometry has more to do with the risk of ACL damage than gender. more
co.don, CNMD, DJO and Synthes report ... Baxter closes Synovis acquisition ... Amedica announces $30M debt financing, launches Valeo VBR ... Cayenne Medical raises $10M ... SNN introduces POLARCUP Dual Mobility Hip ... Medtronic seeking royalties, interest relating to NUVA patent case ... Amedica appoints CEO more
Product launches from AAOS ... Nobel Biocare announces 4Q ... Hospitals settle Medicare fraud claims over kyphoplasty billing ... Updates on the American Joint Replacement Registry ... Stryker announces inventory management system rollout more
ZMH acquires Synvasive Technology ... Carticept, DiFusion announce funding rounds ... KFx announces ACL study results ... MedShape launches ExoShape Soft Tissue Fastener ... VG Innovations releases VerteLoc v2.5 ... Stryker settles OP-1 charges ... Zyga Technology appoints president and CEO more
MAKO, NUVA, OFIX, SYK, TRNX pre-announce ... FDA clears Biomet's E1 humeral bearing and Comprehensive Segmental Revision System ... Ortho Kinematics receives 510(k) clearance ... Lanx announces 100th implantation of Durango ... Mazor receives EU patent ... SNN announces VISIONAIRE study ... Arthrex to market ThermoGenesis PRP, bone marrow concentrate product ... Pioneer Surgical promotes Daniel Webber to CEO more
IART pre-announces . . . China Kanghui subsidiary receives FDA clearance for hip and knee systems . . . first procedure performed with Ellipse Technologies device . . . Pioneer Surgical announces first clinical use of nanOss Bioactive 3D . . . Wright Medical launches ORTHOLOC 3Di Ankle Fracture System and the QUICKDRAW Knotless Soft Tissue Fixation System . . . Globus appoints SVP and CFO . . . Vexim appoints CEO more
Biomet pre-announces . . . Oregon judge throws out SNN suture anchor ruling . . . Exactech initiates cartilage repair study . . . Spine Wave and MB Innovations announce partnership more
Orthopedic surgeons from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia presented data about pediatric knee injuries at this week's American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting, and the results demonstrated new trends in sports medicine: pediatric ACL and meniscal tears have "increased dramatically" over the prior twelve years. Notably, tibial spine fractures, or the bone where the ACL attaches, remained flat over the same time period, indicating a shift in injury patterns. more
aap Implantate pre-announces 3Q:11 ... ISTO receives CE mark for InQu ... Biomet celebrates 35th anniversary of the Oxford partial knee ... TiGenix announces Finnish distribution for ChondroCelect more
ATEC, ANIK, ARTC, BMTI, EXAC, SNN, SMA announce earnings . . . Ellipse Technologies announces series C round . . . CMS announces IPPS final rule . . . KFx Medical sues Arthrex . . . Tornier initiates IDE study more
Stryker completes Orthovita tender offer . . . ConforMIS to raise $68M . . . FDA clears Corin's highly cross-linked polyethylene liners and large diameter CoCr and BIOLOX Delta Ceramic heads . . . Aesculap launches Hydrolift Vertebral Body Replacement System . . . Cayenne Medical debuts the CrossFix II Meniscal Repair System . . . Mesoblast receives FDA clearance to begin phase II DDD study more
Brainlab to acquire Voyant Health . . . FDA clears ARTC's Spartan 6.5 Needled Anchor . . . Mazor Robotics launches next-gen Renaissance system . . . DFINE comments on VCF study results . . . Senators request investigation of PODs . . . Arteriocyte announces army stem-cell research project more
aap, Medicrea report 1Q sales . . . Orthopaedic Synergy to raise $9.5M . . . FDA clears ATEC's Solus . . . Titan Spine receives CE mark for Endoskeleton lumbar devices . . . Emerge Medical introduces trauma line . . . Life Spine holds surgeon training . . . Mazor announces 2,000th procedure . . . CareFusion's COO resigns more
China Kanghui reports earnings, announces acquisition . . . FlexFix to acquire assets from Novalign . . . Newly-formed Rachiotek to acquire Applied Spine Technologies . . . Core Essence raises $11.5M . . . LDR submits PMA for two-level Mobi-C . . . FDA clears TSON's AxiaLIF 1L+ . . . FDA approves Seikagaku's single-injection HA . . . Pioneer Surgical launches the the Streamline TL Spinal Fixation System . . . Spinal Kinetics announces 10,000th implantation of M6 Disc . . . Medtronic of Canada releases data from study on kyphoplasty in cancer patients . . . Zimmer signs Department of Defense contract more
ARTC, DJO, GENZ, OFIX and Synthes report earnings . . . Sonoma raises $22 million . . . Anika provides FDA update . . . AAOS product launches . . . Medtronic announces kyphoplasty data more
Biomet announces FQ1:11 . . . Core Essence Orthopaedics raises $1.5M . . . Medical Tracking Solutions launches iTraycer . . . 1,000th Zimmer Natural Nail Cephalomedullary Nail implanted . . . Vertiflex enrolls 200 patients in its Superion IDE study . . . Pioneer Surgical to manufacture and distribute SpineSmith's Cequence anterior cervical plate . . . Cardo Medical seeks capital . . . Pioneer Surgical to open manufacturing and distribution facility in Scotland more
M&A Amedica acquired US Spine for an undisclosed amount. The target company manufactures a range of fusion products as well as the Facet Fixation System, which features the Facet Gun to lock the facet joint. Amedica says that with the... more
Watching TED talks on iTunes - or an iPad for that matter - is the futurist's equivalent of a basketball fan's immersion into March Madness. TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design is a non-profit organization devoted to spreading forward-thinking... more
Medtronic announces FQ4 . . . Exactech acquires Brighton Partners, supplier of Optetrak knee material . . . VentureMD closes funding round . . . KFx cleared to market AppianFx knee products . . . X-spine receives FDA clearance for Fixcet Spinal Facet Screw System . . . Applied Spine awarded patents . . . DFine, Vertos release clinical data . . . curasan collaborates with Matricel on bone graft substitute . . . SpineGuard appoints Alan Olsen Chairman of the Board more
Earnings RSB Spine announced that 1Q:10 sales increased 25% over 4Q09. M&A Stryker closed its acquisition of assets related to Synergetics' Sonopet/Omni product line, an ultrasonic aspirator that has applications in neurosurgery. Synergetics will receive $2.5 to $3.0 million in... more
 The latest news from AAOS! VITA and MAKO report 4Q09 . . . ETEX receives 510(k) . . . DePuy, Integra, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew and more announce product launches . . . SEC Drops Wright Medical Investigation . . . BioMimetic Therapeutics shares study results . . . Long-term use of bisphosphonates may increase fracture risk . . . NeoStem wins research grant more
Starting in October 2009, HealthpointCapital initiated a one-year Research Scholarship at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) for a select oprthopedic surgeon from China. This month, we checked in with our Research Scholar, Dr. Xiaodong Ju, to see how he... more
Earnings aap Implantate reported preliminary sales of EUR 7.4 million ($10.6 million) in 4Q:09, down 4% from the year-ago period. Full year sales were up 3% to EUR 33.0 million ($47.3 million). Company highlights for the year include "optimizing its... more
Legislation The Senate voted 60-39 last week to pass the chamber's healthcare reform legislation. Included in the legislation is a change to the timeline of the medical device tax: the tax will be implemented in 2011, later than the original... more
Biomet has acquired the assets of Cartilix for an undisclosed sum. The target company is developing ChonDux, a new technology that uses a biological adhesive and hydrogel to fill lesions in the articular cartilage. Previous investors in the company include... more
Earnings Biomet reported FQ1:10 revenues of $630.0 million, a 7% increase over the year-ago period. Excluding dental, recon sales increased by 9%, with knee up 10%, hip up 6% and extremity up 23%. Dental decreased by 5%. All rates exclude... more
Funding MedShape Solutions closed a $10 million round of equity funding from unnamed private investors. The company will use the funds to develop its portfolio of PEEK-based shape-memory devices. An Indianapolis foundation granted $7.0 million for the creation of OrthoWorx,... more
M&A Integra LifeSciences acquired the assets of Innovative Spinal Technologies, Inc. (IST) for $9.25 million in cash. Last year the company recorded $2.2 million in revenues, though they ceased operations in January and went into liquidation in May. This transaction... more
M&A Kapstone Medical acquired exclusive rights to Spherofix's screw-locking technology, which the company plans to incorporate into a line of spinal implants. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Regulatory Covidien received FDA approval to market its DuraSeal spine sealant,... more
Earnings Biomet reported FQ4:09 sales of $639.3 million, representing a 7% increase over the year-ago period. Among segments, hip increased 9%; knee increased 11%; extremity increased 18%; dental decreased 13%; fixation increased 5%; and spine increase 18%. All growth rates... more
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... more
Funding BioMimetic Therapeutics raised approximately $17.0 million in a rights offering that closed on Wednesday. The company offered 2,000,000 shares at $8.50 per share in May. The company plans to use the funds for general corporate purposes, including to product... more
High-profile injuries in professional athletes can draw attention to training and treatment gaps in everyday sports medicine. For example, Tiger Woods' well-publicized ACL repair may have helped encourage athletes to build leg strength to protect the knees. However, a new... more
Earnings Medtronic reported FQ4:09 revenue of $3.8 billion, representing a 5% increase (constant currency) over FQ4:08 and in line with estimates. Adjusted EPS for the quarter was $0.82, also in line with estimates. Spine and biologics revenue was $881.0 million,... more
Virtual sports are causing some very real injuries for fans of the Nintendo Wii, with physicians reporting Wii-related "sprains and strains" growing with the popularity of the gaming system. While no significant injuries have been reported (save a broken finger... more
The WSJ published additional details of its investigation into ReGen Biologics' FDA clearance for its Menaflex meniscal implant. New information out this morning includes details of campaign donations from ReGen executives to the New Jersey politicians who stood behind ReGen... more
Earnings TiGenix announced 2008 financial results this week, reporting a widening net loss as the company prepares to launch ChondroCelect in Europe. The company's net loss was EUR 15.2 million ($21.4 million), an increase of 27% over 2007. As the... more
Earnings Exactech reported 4Q:08 revenues of $40.3 million, representing a 22% increase over 4Q:07 and beating estimates by $0.4 million. Net income was $3.1 million, or $0.24 per share, representing a 15% increase over 4Q:07 and beating estimates by $0.04.... more
Earnings CONMED Corp. reported 4Q:08 revenues of $179.2 million, down 5% versus 4Q:07 and beating estimates by $2.26 million. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.34, down 23% from 4Q:07 and beating estimates by $0.05. The company reported 4Q:08 arthroscopy... more
Researchers at Stanford University are developing sodium MRI, an imaging technique that can identify signs of cartilage deterioration up to decades before a patient exhibits symptoms of osteoarthritis. A standard MRI emits electromagnetic energy that excites protons in water molecules.... more
This morning ArthroCare, the well known minimally invasive sports medicine company, announced that it received a letter from the Nasdaq stock exchange that its stock is to be de-listed at the open of trading tomorrow - Friday, January 16. Although... more
This morning Regen Biologics announced that it received its long awaited FDA 510(k) clearance to market its collagen meniscus implant for the knee. This marks the end of a long and tortured back and forth between the company and the... more
Funding In addition to its regularly scheduled payments, Orthofix International will make a $10 million debt prepayment on December 29th in advance of the scheduled maturity. According to Executive Vice President and CFO Bob Vaters, "This is a good time... more
Last week, Smith & Nephew Endoscopy was granted an injunction from a US Federal court barring Arthrex from manufacturing or selling several tacks and suture anchors used in minimally invasive soft tissue repairs. The injunction is due to take effect... more
Earnings Medtronic reported FQ2:09 revenues of $3.57 billion, up 14% (8% constant currency) over the year-ago period and missing estimates by $0.12 billion. Non-GAAP net earnings and diluted earnings per share were $758.0 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, missing... more
M&A Arthro Kinetics announced that they are pursuing a potential asset sale. The company said this week that their current $5.0 million cash balance was not sufficient to sustain operations. Tecomet has been acquired from Cardinal Health by Charlesbank Capital... more
Last week, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that more or less said "no". In cautionary scientific parlance, the study concluded that "arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee provides no additional benefit to optimized physical and... more
A cartilage company raising venture money is a not-so-common development in the world of sports medicine. In this instance, Waltham, MA based Histogenics just announced it has raised $9 million from venture investors. Of interest, Stryker was included in the... more
Earnings BioMimetic Therapeutics reported a 2Q:08 net loss of $9.2 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, widening from a net loss of $6.4 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, in 2Q:07. Clinical highlights for the quarter include the announcement of... more
Funding Exactech received a $40.0 million syndicated line of credit which will be used to fund future acquisitions and refinance debt, among other expenses. SunTrust Bank served as lead agent with participation by Compass Bank. M&A clickNsettle announced plans... more
Queensland University Of Technology researchers are developing a device they call a "smarthroscope," designed to be a more sensitive alternative to an arthroscope. Professor Kunle Oloyede, who received a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council to develop... more
In February, the New York Times reported on a rise in pediatric ACL cases, attributed to aggressive athletic activity, the increasingly common practice of MRI scans for injured knees and physicians' heightened familiarity with pediatric ACL tears. Now an article... more
Earnings Artimplant announced 1Q:08 revenues of SEK 2.1 million ($0.35 million), down from SEK 3.9 million ($0.66 million) in 1Q:07. Net loss for the quarter was SEK 6.2 million ($1.04 million), or SEK 10 ($1.68) per share, a deterioration from... more
Earnings Alphatec Holdings reported consolidated revenues for 1Q:08 of $23.2 million, an increase of 19% from the year-ago period. U.S. revenues for the first quarter of 2008 were $18.6 million, an increase of 12% from the year-ago period. Asia revenues... more
M&A Kinetic Concepts, Inc. announced plans to acquire LifeCell for $1.7 billion, or $51.00 per share, which represents an 18% premium over LifeCell's closing price on Friday and a 26% premium over the 90-day volume weighted average trading price. KCI... more
Earnings Anika Therapeutics reported 4Q:07 product revenue of $7.9 million, in line with estimates and up from $5.08 million for the same period last year. The revenue growth was attributed to domestic and international sales of the ORTHOVISC product line,... more
Once thought to be rare among children, pediatric ACL injuries have been diagnosed more frequently in recent years, a shift that could be attributed to aggressive athletic activity, the increasingly common practice of MRI scans for kids with hurt knees... more
On Thursday of last week, MAKO Surgical Corp went public. The Company, which makes robotic arms for minimally inveasive knee surgery, raised an impressive $51 million in capital selling at $10 a share. Although it lost some ground on the... more
When a patient with a rotator-cuff tear has the injury surgically repaired, he or she faces both severe pain associated with the procedure and the possibility that the injury will recur. According to an article (subscription required) in last week's... more
Earnings JNJ reported 4Q:07 revenues of $15.96 billion, up 17% over the year-ago period and beating consensus estimates of $15.4 billion. Net income was $2.37 billion, or $0.82 per share, missing estimates by $0.04. Depuy reported 4Q:07 sales of $1.21... more
M&A ArthroCare Corp. acquired DiscoCare, Inc., whom the company describes as "a third-party billing and reimbursement service provider," for $25 million in cash plus potential future milestone payments. The company says, "This acquisition will allow ArthroCare to significantly expand its... more
Last week ArthroCare announced a $25 million deal to acquire DiscoCare, described in the press release as a "medical billing and reimbursement service provider." Specifically, DiscoCare provides reimbursement assistance to physicians using Arthrocare's plasma disc decompression (PDD) device; though it... more
Earnings Artimplant announced 3Q:07 revenue of SEK 2.6 million, up from SEK 0.9 million in the year-ago period. 3Q:07 net loss was SEK 3.6 million, down from SEK 10.4 in 3Q:06. Earnings per share, including a non-recurring item, amounted to... more
This morning Regeneration Technologies (RTI) and Tutogen announced their intent to merge. These are two of the larger players in the tissue processing business though their businesses have surprisingly little overlap. RTI has been more focused on allograft hard tissue... more
Earnings ArthroCare Corp. reported 3Q:07 total revenues of $78.5 million, an increase of 21% over the comparable quarter. Revenues missed estimates by $0.11 million. The company reported net income of $11.1 million, or $0.39 per share, up 28% over 3Q:06... more
Legal Federal prosecutors announced on Thursday the terms of a settlement with Zimmer, Depuy, Biomet, Smith & Nephew and Stryker following an investigation into physician compensation practices. Zimmer, Depuy, Biomet and Smith & Nephew entered into deferred prosecution agreements and... more
ReGen Biologics today announced it received a "Not Substantially Equivalent" (NSE) letter from the FDA in response to the 510(k) premarket notification the company submitted for its meniscal repair implant. In a press release and conference call, a clearly frustrated... more
Earnings AOI Medical reported a 1H:07 loss of $1.8 million, increasing from a loss of $0.97 million in the comparable half. The company attributed the loss to increased expenses. They expect their product, the Balloon Assisted Management of Spine Fractures,... more
Earnings Globus Medical announced 2Q:07 revenues of $30.2 million, an increase of 52% over the comparable quarter. The company attributes the revenue growth to the expansion of its sales and distribution footprint, product introductions in its fusion, MIS and biomaterials... more
Earnings BioMimetic Therapeutics reported a 2Q:07 net loss of $6.4 million, or $(0.35) per share, beating estimates of $(0.39) per share and improving from a net loss of $3.9 million, or $(0.42) per share, in 2Q:06. 2Q:07 Revenues were $0.5... more
Calgary was the host city for this year's AOSSM conference last week, which coincided with the Stampede, the world's largest rodeo event. No Calgary citizen seemed to be working this week; all were enjoying perfect weather, pancake breakfasts and BBQ... more
This morning DJO Incorporated (formerly known as DJ Orthopedics), the largest bracing company in the land, announced that it has agreed to be sold for $1.6 billion to Austin, Texas-based ReAble Theraputics, Inc. (formerly known as Encore Medical). As opposed... more
M&A Biomet Inc. shareholders accepted an $11.4 billion buyout offer from a private equity consortium attempting to acquire the medical device maker. The consortium, LVB Acquisition LLC, announced Thursday that nearly 83 percent of Biomet's shares were tendered. The company... more
Last week, we attended the Society for Biomaterials' annual conference. The event showcases the latest academic research and its broad applications across medical specialties. Roughly a third of the poster presentations focused on orthopedics, and most of the rest related... more
Earnings Vertebron announced in a press release that 1Q:07 was its most profitable quarter ever. The Company attributes the growth to a significant sales increase over the comparable quarter last year as well as a company-wide restructuring in 3Q:06. Vertebron... more
Today Biomet Sports Medicine announced that it is doing a deal with Marc Tec LLC to acquire access to minimally invasive sports medicine and arthroscopic technologies. Marc Tec is an affiliate of Bonutti Technologies and the deal includes over 45... more
Allograft companies, Regeneration Technologies (RTI) and Cryolife announced a non-cash exchange and service agreement this morning concerning their orthopedic and cardiovascular processing. With respect to orthopedics, starting January 1, CryoLife will work to transition existing tissue recovery and donation arrangements... more
Regulatory CryoLife received FDA 510(k) clearance for its ProPatch™ Soft Tissue Repair Matrix, an announcement that drove its stock up 9%. Among other applications, ProPatch can be used to reinforce tissues repaired by sutures or by suture anchors during tendon... more
Earnings Update: Tutogen Medical, Inc. provided an update on its 4Q:06 projected revenues which are estimated at ~$10.8 million, representing a 36% increase over the comparable quarter of 2005. Revenues for the fiscal year will be ~$38 million, an increase... more
Appointment: Ranier Technology Limited has appointed John C. Moran to its Board of Directors. Previously, Mr. Moran was a President of Synthes Spine and a Director of Spine Solutions, Inc. Active Implants Corporation (AIC) has hired Richard Treharne, PhD. as... more
Earnings: Biologics: Tutogen reported 3Q:06 sales of $10 million and a net loss of $1.1 million, or $0.07 per fully diluted share compared to the same quarter last year. The Company would have experienced breakeven results without ~$1.1 million in... more
Earnings: Biologics: Orthovita reported 2Q:06 product sales came in at $11.2 million, up 32% compared to 2Q:05. On a non-GAAP basis net loss for the quarter was $5.1 million, or a loss of $0.10 per share. The Company did not... more
On Monday, ReGen Biologics announced that it had received a letter from the FDA rejecting to approve the ReGen® collagen scaffold technology to be classified as a Class II medical device. In its exact words, the collagen scaffold technology, "is... more
This morning Orthofix International, NV (NasdaqGS: OFIX) announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire independent spinal implant developer Blackstone Medical, Inc. for $333 million in cash. Blackstone revenues were $22mm in 2Q:06 and EBIT was approximately $2mm. Trailing... more
This past weekend we attended the 22nd Annual Summer Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society in La Jolla (AOFAS). The conference ran from July 14-16, 2006 at the Hilton Torrey Pines Hotel and there were approximately 400... more
Appointment: Biomet, Inc. appointed Charles E. Niemier as President of EBI's operations following the resignation of its former president, Bart J. Doedens, M.D. Mr. Niemier has been a member of the senior management team and Board of Directors for more... more
This morning Orthofix announced the appointment of Michael M. Finegan as Vice President of Corporate Development and head of the Company's new Corporate Development Group. His duties will include identifying external opportunities for the company to increase its revenues and... more
Appointment: A medical imaging company ONI Medical appointed Victor Ruiz to Vice President, of the Corporate Strategy and Marketing division. Mr. Ruiz's past experience include world-famous imaging companies: GE Medical Systems and Cardinal Health Inc. Clinical Update: LDR Spine announced... more
Yesterday morning, dj Orthopedics Inc. announced that it changed its name to DJO Inc. following its recent acquisition of Aircast Inc. The company acquired Aircast, famous to soccer moms for its ankle braces and casts, for $290 million at the... more
To update from previous blog, twenty of twenty-four orthopedic companies reported revenues and earnings for the period of January 1, 2006 to April 1, 2006. Excluding Inion, Osteotech, RTI (Regeneration Technologies) and Tutogen, which have not reported yet, total orthopedic... more
The first group of orthopedic companies reported their 1Q:06 this week and took in $5.3 billion so far. The total aggregated revenues for the quarter were up by 7% from $4.9 billion in 1Q:05. The industry netted $637.8 million, a... more
Our current forecast for the orthopedic industry projects continued long term growth of 15%. For 2006, we expect growth to be slightly below this trend, at 12%. Despite continued strength in other segments of the industry, hip and knee reconstruction... more
ArthroCare Corp. has filed a notification of late filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its annual Form 10-K with the SEC, asking for a 15-day extension until Mar. 31, 2006. In plain engolish that means they are handing... more
We wrap up this quarter with aggregated earnings and sales in the public orthopedic sector of $560 million and $5 billion, respectively, as a few more companies reported this week. For 3Q:05, orthopedic sales were up by 13% ($5.0 billion... more
One of the leaders in this emerging meniscus repair market is ReGen Biologics. We recently had a chance to do a catch up with Gary Bisbee, CEO of ReGen Biologics who we interviewed last year. Disclosure: Individual members of HealthpointCapital,... more
On Friday ReGen Biologics, Inc. reported that it received a warning letter dated September 16, 2005 from the FDA. The warning letter was a follow-up to the FDA Form 483 notice of inspectional observations received by ReGen and, along with... more
Invibio scored a coup in Japan recently. Today the Company announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health has approved for use the first implantable medical device using the Company's PEEK-OPTIMA polymer. The device is an arthroscopic tissue repair system used... more
The FDA Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Devices Panel held a meeting September 8th and 9th to rule on two important issues: Smith & Nephew's hip resurfacing device and the design of clinical studies for spinal devices. You can find background information... more
ArthroCare Corp. has settled all legal disputes with the Smith & Nephew PLC Endoscopy division by signing product supply and license agreements for bipolar and monopolar arthroscopy products. The various agreements resolve all of ArthroCare's pending litigation against Smith &... more
This morning, Orthofix International N.V. (NASDAQ: OFIX) announced that Alan W. Milinazzo, 45, has joined the Company as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). Milinazzo joins Orthofix as an experienced hand in the medical device field with decades of experience, most... more
This week, we decided to post the Orthopedic News Roundup for Thursday, instead of Friday due to the upcoming holiday. Clearly the biggest headline this week is the announcement of a take-over bid by Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation ("MTF") for Osteotech... more
Cricket is a well known international sport played in over 60 countries. Although the sport had been around for a century, it became formalized in 1744 after the by-laws were created by the London Club. The game is competitively played... more
On Wednesday afternoon, Arthrocare (nasdaq:ARTC) announced that it has purchased substantially all of the assets and certain liabilities of Applied Therapeutics Inc. for $10 million in cash. The deal also includes a payment contigent on Applied Therapeutics' revenue from Feb.... more
This week we completed the orthopedic reporting calendar as a few more companies reported earnings, starting with Synthes, the number #1 trauma company worldwide. Synthes reported 20% growth in both top and bottom line for 1H:05. Consolidated sales reported at... more
The traditionally steady-as-she-goes bracing sector has been heating up with some M&A activity lately. Two weeks ago, Ossur annouced it was buying Royce Medical and, in the last five days, we have two new events to consider: (i) dj Orthopedics... more
February 2010 update: This report is no longer available for purchase. Learn more here. The sports medicine segment of orthopedics represents nearly $2 billion of revenues between arthroscopic equipment and implants and non-operative devices such as braces and splints. This... more
This week we finish off the first half of 2005 reporting season with 17 orthopedic companies* released their financial numbers. In 2Q:05, in an aggregated total, orthopedic revenues increased 16% ($3.8 billion vs. $3.2 billion) and a 25% increased in... more
This morning Icelandic prosthetics developer Ossur announced its second major foray into the bracing business: the acquisition of Royce Medical Holding Inc. And for a pretty penny too... $216 million or well in excess of 4x revenue by our estimates.... more
Perhaps the most startling innovation of this years AOSSM sports medicine conference was a palm pilot kiosk where surgeons and exhibitors could beam the entire conference program and floorplan into their cellphones and PDAs in about 30 seconds. Immediately addicted,... more
While touring the floors of the AOSSM sports medicine conference in Colorado this morning, Brad Mason the President of BREG (an Orthofix company) pulled us aside to show us the company's new FUSION functional knee brace. Before we could say... more
Billion dollar cardio investor Three Arch Partners is making further inroads into ortho with their investment in Irvine, CA based Pegasus Biologics, Inc. a developer of advanced collagen-based bioimplants. Frazier HealthCare Ventures joined Three Arch in what turned out to... more
Last Thursday the US Census Bureau released new state-by-state projections on the aging of the U.S. population which showed not only how it expects the nation to age, but how the population is expected to shift geographically over the next... more
Background on Gain Sharing. The Hospital Corporation of America ("HCA") has recently asked the Office of Inspector General ("OIG") of the Department of Health & Human Services ("HHS") to allow for "gain-sharing" arrangements. These gain-sharing arrangements would allow hospitals to... more
The healthcare industry has long been the subject of regulation by complex laws that do not exist in other industries and which, under certain circumstances, may seem almost excessive and counter-intuitive. The enforcement of these laws has been significant and... more
At the end of last week, we attended the University of South Florida's "Preservation of Motion in the Lumbar Spine" course to check in on how leading surgeons are coming along with motion preserving spinal procedures and related surgical implant... more
I was struck by economist Paul Krugman's article "America's Senior Moment" in the most recent New York Review of Books. In the article Krugman assails the Bush Administration's push for social security "privatization" with the fervor of a campus radical,... more
ARTC reported $42.7 million in net revenues during the 4Q:04 which was a 31% increase over the 4Q:03 and $600 thousand higher than analyst expectations. For 2004, revenues totaled $154.1 million compared to $118.9 million during 2003 which represents a... more
We have aggregated the 4Q:04 and 3Q:04 reported revenues (includes the effects of foreign currency) for 16 public orthopedic companies. Although we would have liked to use revenue growth rates which excluded foreign currency, a majority of the companies report... more
From a business development and strategy execution standpoint/2004 was an excellent year for Encore. Management completed two acquisitions (Empi and Osteoimplant Technologies, Inc.) which fits the overall business development strategy of ENMC: growth via acquisition. The acquisitions helped drive revenues... more
The 2005 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeon Annual Conference was unique to recent meetings. It was louder in terms of the amount of marketing, size of exhibits and mass advertising, yet it was quieter in terms of business development and,... more
This year we attended Smith & Nephew's, Biomet's, Stryker's, and Encore Medical's analyst meetings. All were very professional and well attended. Here are our notes from each: Smith & Nephew Overview: Although Smith & Nephew posted the best large joint... more
Overwhelmed with all the education opportunities? Join the club. Good news for you, though - the HealthpointCapital research team has whittled down the program to 26 of the most controversial and best-hosted side sessions. Minimally Invasive Breaks Out Every year... more
It's here again, the annual AAOS conference. Thousands are ready to descend on Washington, D.C. the week of February 21st to learn of new surgical techniques, new products and to develop business and relationships. While it is hard to predict... more
Last week, ArthroCare (NASDAQ:ARTC) announced 4Q:04 product revenues will reach $40.8 million, a 30% increase from last year's fourth quarter. The company expects total product revenues for the fiscal year 2004 to total approximately $147.8 million, up 29% from the... more
Direct-to-consumer advertising has become the most powerful means of marketing pharmaceuticals over the last decade. For years we have seen these strange advertisements which typically only mention the name of a drug and the manufacturer, but withhold any information regarding... more
Warsaw, Indiana is forging ahead. Orthopedic industry supplier Symmetry Medical (NYSE:SMA) announced this morning that it has completed an $8.5 million facilities expansion. The projects undertaken included augmenting two existing facilities and developing two new facilities as follows (according to... more
The markets are open for business for orthopedic IPOs! Two weeks ago biodegradable implant manufacturer Inion raised '30 million on the London Stock Exchange at valuation of 19x revenue. Orthotics manufacturer Langer also announced a secondary offering to raise $30... more
Last week, dj Orthopedics Inc. (NYSE:DJO) management team held an analyst's day where they reiterated their guidance on their 4Q:04 forecast for revenue in the range of $65 million to $67 million. According to Reuters, the analysts consensus revenue estimate... more
Last week, orthotic and prosthetic device company Langer, Inc. (Nasdaq: GAIT) announced that it was filing a registration statement with SEC to facilitate a 5,000,000 share offering to (i) pay down more than half of its $35 million in debt... more
Europe stole the headlines last week when Finnish implant manufacturer Inion (LSE: IIN LN) went public raising £30 million (US$58 million) on the London Stock Exchange. Immediately following the offering, valuation shot up 30% to a staggering 19x estimated 2004... more
Two weeks ago, Aircast announced that it will be acquired by $1.3 billion private equity fund Tailwind Capital Partners. By all measures, the deal looks and feels like a plain vanilla leveraged buyout. A substantial amount of debt is being... more
NASDAQ wants to be stock market of choice for high quality growth companies. Arthrocare should be exactly the kind of company NASDAQ represents. Innovative, profitable, over $100 million in revenues, growing rapidly, innovating in key medical sectors, over $600 million... more
In an SEC filing on Wednesday of last week Symmetry Medical, Inc. reduced the number of shares it plans to offer from ten million to eight million. Pricing is set at the $13 to $15 per share range according to... more
Last week ArthroCare Corp. (NASDAQ: ARTCE - note new ticker symbol) completed its acquisition of privately held Opus Medical, Inc.. ArthroCare paid with a combination of cash and stock for this privately-held arthroscopic surgery innovator. The terms of the $130... more
Last week Orthofix (Nasdaq: OFIX) announced that revenues for 3Q:04, were $71.5 million, an increase of 39 percent over the $51.3 million reported for 3Q:03. The 2004 revenue number includes the acquired Breg revenues. The Company noted that the incremental... more
Last week, dj Orthopedics (NYSE:DJO) announced that net revenues for 3Q:04 rose 27.9 percent to $62.5 million, compared with net revenues of $48.9 million reported in 3Q:03. Revenues were therefore below the consensus estimate of $63.1 million. Of course, the... more
Last week, ArthroCare Corp (Nasdaq: ARTC) announced that for the third quarter ending September 30, revenues rose 30% on year-over-year (YOY) basis. Total revenues, which include product revenues, license fees and royalties, for 3Q:04 were $38.2 million versus the $29.4... more
Cartilage repair is coming of age. One of the leaders in this emerging technology is ReGen Biologics. During the recent HealthpointCapital Biologics Summit, we spent a few quality moments interviewing Gary Bisbee, CEO of ReGen Biologics. JM: Introduce our Readers... more
Last week, dj Orthopedics (NYSE: DJO) stock fell 10% on the announcement that it was cutting its third quarter outlook. The shortfall largely comes from previously announced integration efforts associated with the Company's Regentek unit, which manufactures bone growth stimulation... more
Last week Langer (NASDAQ: GAIT) announced that it inked a deal to acquire Silipos, Inc. Silipos, which operates out of New York City and Niagara Falls, NY, manufactures gel-based products that have orthopedic and prosthetic applications such as heel cups,... more
Using classic portfolio theory to analyze the past performance of orthopedic equity we uncovered data that strongly suggests that Orthopedic equities delivered to investors superior returns with minimal risk and, in fact, provided a better risk/return paradigm than the rest... more
dj Orthopedics, Inc. (NYSE:DJO), announced on Friday the appointment of W. Thomas Mitchell to its Board of Directors. Mr. Mitchell will serve as an independent director of the board and will serve on the audit committee, replacing Kirby Cramer, who... more
dj Orthopedics, Inc. (NYSE: DJO) met analysts' $0.21 second quarter earnings expectations for the second quarter of 2004 after an adjustment for a bond redemption premium. 2Q:04 revenues for DJO were $63.2 million, 33.2% higher than last year's 2Q:03 (7.2%... more
ArthroCare achieved total revenues of $37.7 million for 2Q:04; a 27% year over year increase compared to the $29.7 million achieved in 2Q:03 largely driven by US revenues. The Sports Medicine business unit (64% of product revenue) exceeded management's expectations... more
Last week Orthofix announced that second quarter sales are expected to be approximately $70.8 million which are less than consensus analyst expectations of $73.0 million to $73.8 million. Earnings per share are expected to approximate between $0.49 and $0.51 per... more
If you are looking to buy a Smith & Nephew Dyonics Control RF System, ElectroBlade or Saphyre™ you might as well go to ebay because Smith & Nephew has been barred from selling them by the U.S. District Court of... more
For an industry that only has a little over 20 publicly traded companies, orthopedic devices is doing well this year with its third major equity offering. This time Warsaw, Indiana based Symmetry Medical has filed its registration statement with the... more
Late Friday of last week, dj Orthopedics (NYSE: DJO) announced that it has filed for shelf registration with the SEC in order to sell a block of shares owned by existing shareholders and management. The selling shareholders are JP Morgan... more
Last week dj Orthopedics (NYSE: DJO) made the call analysts have been expecting: the redemption of their punitively expensive Senior Subordinated notes. This lingering artifact from the Company's 1999 LBO was costing the company nearly $10 million in interest costs... more
It would seem that the theme of DJO's first quarter financial results announced on Wednesday was new, new and' new. The Company captured the benefits of a new division, gained new contracts, introduced new products and is building a new... more
Orthofix had its first full quarter that included the BREG acquisition and the results were solid. Revenues grew year-over-year by 47% to $70.7 million in 1Q:04 from $48.2 million in 1Q:03. We note that $2.4 million of that growth comes... more
ArthroCare achieved total revenues of $34.3 million for 1Q:04 a 31% year over year increase compared to the $27.2 million achieved in 1Q:03. For the remainder of the year, the Company expects revenue to grow at 20% which would allow... more
The IPO market for orthopedic and related companies is clearly heating up this year. Witness the recent offerings from NuVasive and dj Orthopedics. Now St. Paul, MN based orthopedic rehabilitation company EMPI, Inc. has just filed its Registration Statement with... more
Presidential contender John Kerry is probably wishing he had a war story to tell about his torn subscapularis tendon, but alas, a mundane fall on a stopping bus is all he had to report. What is not widely discussed is... more
Orthofix International N.V. (NASDAQ NM:OFIX) announced a shift in its Board structure on Friday where Jim Gero, a member of the OFIX Board of Directors since 1997, will become its new Chairman of the Board. He will replace Robert Gaines-Cooper... more
The 2004 American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons hit with the speed and intensity of a tornado. It wasn't a destructive tornado but rather a whirlwind of innovative technology and merger activity. Biomet (BMET:NASDAQ) couldn't wait for the official Academy to... more
On Thursday, Orthofix (OFIX) announced revenues of $203.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2003, an increase of 15% over the prior year. Interestingly, over a quarter of the incremental revenue can be attributed to the US dollar decline. ... more
Last Tuesday, dj Orthopedics (DJO) closed its offering of 7,500,000 shares at $19 per share where the Company sold 3,162,500 primary shares in the offering and selling stockholders separately sold 5,462,500 shares. After the bankers took their fees, DJO netted... more
This past Friday, dj Orthopedics announced that it plans to publicly offer 6,000,000 shares of its common stock. This comes quickly on the heels of a recent shelf registration announcement and statement filed with the SEC. The shelf registration is... more
Despite dj Orthopedics' (DJO) wobbly stock last week, the Company's 4th quarter earnings per share of $0.21 was slightly ahead of expectations with the full year coming in at $0.64. DJO's stellar performance comes on the heels of record revenues... more
ArthroCare (ARTC) reported strong year-over-year revenue growth where total 2003 revenues reached $118.9 million compared with $88.8 million in 2002. Product sales in 2003 were $114.7 compared to $85.0 million in 2002. In 2003, gross margin on product sales increased... more
It seems that rising orthopedic valuations on Wall Street are not the only voice hailing the "Decade of Orthopedics." The Wall Street Journal got into the act last Tuesday by writing a positive piece on one of the more interesting... more
Raises Fiscal 2004 Guidance. Ortho and sports medicine key growth driver. Biomaterials company Kensey Nash (KNSY) held a conference call to discuss its stellar Second Quarter earnings results last week. KNSY revenues were up 30% from $10.5 million to $13.7... more
On Tuesday of last week, dj Orthpopedis announced that the company has been awarded a three-year supply contract with Premier Purchasing Partners LP - a firm supplying group purchasing, procurement strategy and outsourcing and e-commerce services to approximately 1,600 U.S.... more
There are two ways to print money if you are a private citizen; counterfeit it – and we all know where that leads – or print stock certificates. Encore announced that it intends to print another 7 million shares. That... more
Bottom line, by buying OrthoLogic's bone stim business, DJO is ratcheting up sales growth, profitability at the gross margin line, cash flows and, as the rating agencies noted late last week, debt levels - which hit new highs. Oh, and... more
Apparently “off-label” is a “no-no” if you're a U.S. military physician. Orthofix fought for a while, then settled. Last week, Orthofix decided it was better off avoiding the costs of a protracted litigation battle with the government and opted to... more
DJ Ortho reported a sharp increase in net earnings to $2.7 million ($0.15 per share) on just a 4% rise in sales to $47 million for the June quarter. Operating margins improved significantly in the quarter reaching 15% of sales.... more
Complete Archive
|
