A week after a catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, the orthopedic industry is mobilizing to help. Alphatec Spine, DePuy, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew and Synthes are among the companies contributing money and surgical supplies in the wake of the crisis. Synthes... more
Earnings ArthroCare reported 3Q:09 sales of $76.4 million, representing an increase of 8% over 3Q:08. Analysts had forecast total revenues of $84.3 million. Sports medicine contributed $50.6 million in sales, up 11% over the year-ago period, and spine contributed $4.5... more
A new study in JBJS found slightly increased complication rates among patients who had after-hours orthopedic trauma surgery, emphasizing the impact of overtired clinicians and more limited hospital resources at night. Researchers enrolled 203 patients who presented in the ER... more
According to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, patients 50 and older who suffer vertebral and hip fractures may also have an increased risk of mortality. Results showed that 16% of people who develop a vertebral fracture... more
Study data presented at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting revealed an unexpected trend in patients who undergo bariatric surgery: a dramatically increased risk of fractures. In a representative sample of 97 patients, most of whom underwent a gastric banding procedure,... more
Earnings aap Implantate reported 1Q:09 revenues of EUR 8.4 million ($11.1 million), representing a 5% increase over the year-ago period. EBITDA for the quarter declined 47% to EUR 0.05 million ($1.1 million). The company says that for the full-year 2009,... more
Teriparatide, a recombinant form of parathyroid hormone marketed by Eli Lilly as Forteo, has been shown to stimulate stem cell production and accelerate the healing of fractured bones, according to study data presented at the Orthopaedic Research Society meeting in... more
Earnings Biomet reported FQ3:09 revenues of $615 million, a 7% (constant currency) increase over FQ3:08. Among segments, recon reported growth of 7%, with hip up 10%, knee up 9%, fixation up 4% and dental down 10%, which the company attributed... more
Regulatory Bonesupport received the CE mark for Cerament Bone Void Filler, a ceramic bone substitute primarily used for the treatment of osteoporotic fractures. IlluminOss Medical received the CE mark for its Photodynamic Bone Stabilization System. According to the company, 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 Kensey Nash reported FQ2:09 revenues of $20.8 million, up 6% over the year-ago period and beating estimates by $0.4 million. Net income for the quarter was $5.2 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, beating estimates by $0.04 and representing... more
Geron announced this week that it received an FDA green light to initiate a human clinical study for their embryonic stem cell treatment for spinal cord injuries. The cell formulation, known as GRNOPC1, will be injected in up to 10... more
Earnings CONMED Corp. lowered 4Q:08 revenue projections to $176-$178 million, 9% lower than forecast and approximately 7% lower than 4Q:07. Reduced revenues were attributed to unfavorable foreign currency exchange fluctuations and lower than anticipated sales of capital equipment to hospitals.... more
In an effort to individualize treatment for patients presenting with fractured bones as well as make treatment more cost-effective, the WHO has launched a web tool to help physicians assess the likelihood of future fractures. Knowing future fracture risk can... more
A study published this month in JBJS identifies progenitor cells in traumatized human tissue - which could lead to new options in tissue engineering. The authors point out that while there are multiple sources of progenitor cells (such as bone... more
This evening, BioMimetic Therapeutics (BMTI) issued a press release stating it has reached a settlement with Deutsche Bank regarding BMTI's holdings of auction-rate securities (ARS). BMTI told investors on its 2Q08 conference call that it had approximately $60 million of... more
M&A Life Spine, Inc. has acquired the "majority" of the intellectual property of Spinal Generations, LLC. Neither details on the acquired technology nor terms of the transaction were disclosed. Funding Harvard received a $125 million donation from Synthes Chairman Hansjorg... more
Mesoblast announced positive results from an Australian study evaluating the use of its proprietary stem cell therapy in the treatment of non-healing long bone fractures. 10 patients with 11 fractures were enrolled in the study and received the stem cell... 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
Medtronic announced plans yesterday to bring spine and orthopedic therapies to the Chinese market through a joint venture with Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited. Under the joint venture agreement, the companies will sell spine and orthopedic products, including... more
Earnings Medtronic reported FQ2:08 revenue of $3.12 billion, beating estimates by $0.02 million and representing a 2% increase over the year-ago period. Net earnings for FQ2:08 were $666.0 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, beating estimates by $0.02 but down... more
At the confluence of war and improved medical care sit the 130 U.S. veterans of the current war in Iraq who have had an arm amputated. Advances in battlefield medical care have allowed soldiers who would have died in combat... more
CMS released its final rule for the FY2008 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS). As we noted when the draft rule was announced in April, ortho payments will mostly increase next year. The rule also confirms that CMS will implement new... more
Earnings Biologics LifeCell reported 4Q:06 product revenues of $39.3 million, an increase of 45% over $27.0 million in 4Q:05, but missed analysts' estimates of $39.5 million. The growth was attributed to increased demand for the Company's AlloDerm® Regenerative Tissue Matrix.... more
Earnings Dental: Lifecore Biomedical announced that 1Q:07 net sales increased 12% to $15 million. Net income for the quarter was $1.1 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 9%. The Company was in-line with analysts' estimates and reported earnings of $0.08... 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: Orthovita, Inc. has appointed Albert J. Pavucek, Jr. Vice President Corporate Controller. Mr. Pavucek was with PDI, Inc. serving as Vice President, Finance and Operations. Awards & Recognition: Smith & Nephew plc announced that two of its products, the... 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
Yesterday Synthes reported consolidated 1H:06 financials with sales of $1.2 billion, representing an increase of 14% (15% constant currency). Consolidated sales for 1H:06 in Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and elsewhere increased by 16.8%, 16.6%, 14.7% and 10.5%, respectively. For... 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
Earnings Results: Biologics: Anika Therapeutics announced 2Q:06 net sales increased 11% to $7.1 million. Product revenues grew 74% while licensing, milestone and contract revenue was down 77%. The large product sales growth was partially driven by higher demand for OrthoVisc®;... 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
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
Indonesia has seen a lot of seismic activity in the past few months. The latest was a 6.3 earthquake that hit the island of Java, creating an enormous medical emergency. Thus far, the quake has killed 5,700 people and over... 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 regular readers will remember that a few months ago, Zimmer and HCA had an unusually public fight. To briefly review, HCA entered into volume discount contracts with Zimmer, Stryker and DePuy. At year end, the implant companies reported HCA... 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
With the AAOS in Chicago fast approaching, we have put together a list of "Hot Sessions" to check out. Please click on the link at the bottom to view the entire list. Adult Reconstruction, Hip and KneeSunday, March 26, 2006... more
Smith & Nephew reported results for 4Q05 and FY2005, and they were strong particularly within their Orthopedics segment. For the quarter, they saw 15% growth (ex F/X) in orthopedic sales to $1,267 million, which broke down as follows: *Knees: +12%... more
It has been a busy week for many CEOs and CFOs in the orthopedic device sector. In the past two weeks orthopedic companies reported 3Q:05 sales of $4.7 billion which was a 12% increase over the 3Q:04. Net earnings for... 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
This morning Orthofix announced that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the Company's request to modify its coding mechanisms to include specific coding for hospital procedures utilizing external fixation devices. As of October of this year, facilities will... more
Smith and Nephew's large joint recon business is a muscular enterprise. In its preview of the first half, SNN's management reported that orthopedic revenues are expected to rise 15% year-over-year (YOY), with knees leading the way at a 22% growth... more
Complete Archive
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 