Zimmer Biomet and NuVasive Could be a Spine-Tingling Combination

Zimmer Biomet and NuVasive Could be a Spine-Tingling Combination (The Street)

While some analysts see a buying opportunity after Zimmer Biomet’s (ZBH) latest quarterly results, it is the company’s efforts to return to growth that could signal merger-and-acquisition opportunities.
The medical-device company is well on track to show a return to growth this year, say Jefferies analysts in a research note Friday. Overall organic revenue growth was about 2.5%, better than their estimate of 1.7%. The analysts also noted that the company’s guidance for the second half of the year implies continued growth.
Zimmer Biomet reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.02 per share Thursday that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Revenue of $1.93 billion for the period also surpassed analysts’ forecasts of $1.9 billion. But the key takeaway was the success integration of Biomet as the company has re-established top-line momentum. The stock was up during the trading session Friday, at around $130.85.
“We are now poised to move forward with our plans, which include the acceleration of our commercial and innovation strategic priorities,” said CEO David Dvorak during a conference call with analysts, “These priorities are designed to further enhance and sustain our growth well into the future.”
Analysts with Oppenheimer echoed those sentiments.
“ZBH’s acquisition of Biomet provide solid synergy opportunities on both the top and bottom line,” the Oppenheimer analyst team said. “On easier comps and the benefits of cross-selling, we look for ZBH sales growth to accelerate closer to peer average, driving multiple expansion.”
And, Zimmer Biomet has already started making moves within the health care sector to maintain the momentum. Earlier this summer, the company acquired LDR Holding (LDRH)in a $1 billion deal — which represented a 64% premium. Shortly after, Zimmer announced a deal for France’s Medtech SA (MHMNF) — one that The Deal‘s Sarah Pringle said could also pressure Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to look for opportunities in the robotic-surgery space. But it was the big, billion-dollar deal that signaled the potential for merger-and-acquisition opportunities among spinal-device companies.
Pringle pointed to several spine companies, such as NuVasive  (NUVA) , Orthofix International NV  (OFIX) and Xtant Medical Holdings, as prospective targets or buyers following the Zimmer-LDR deal. While all could be likely takeover targets, NuVasive is one of the several spine companies that represent the next sizable player following Zimmer. But the company could also consolidate, “as it has been vocal about its intentions to bulk up through M&A,” according to The Deal.
Furthermore, NuVasive is led by Greg Lucier, who led Life Technologies before it wasacquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) in 2014 for $13.6 billion, plus the assumption of $1.5 billion debt. (Thermo Fisher is a holding in Jim Cramer’s Action Alerts PLUSportfolio). According to Lucier’s LinkedIn page, he helped “shepherd the deal through global regulatory approval” before stepping down as CEO. He had taken Invitrogen, the predecessor company of Life Technologies, and turned it into Life Technologies, “an international behemoth with more than 12,000 employees, 5,000 patents, 50,000 products, and sales in 180 countries,” according to a Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Newsreport.
But NuVasive has been acting more like a buyer than a seller this year. In January the company announced that it would pay up to $410 million for Ellipse Technologies, a maker of noninvasive magnetically adjustable implant systems. Then in June, it agreed to pay $98 million for patient monitoring company Biotronic NeuroNetwork.
So, for now, the two companies look to keep growing on their own — but NuVasive has experienced leadership that could lead it through a merger or acquisition if approached, perhaps by Zimmer Biomet.

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4WEB Medical wins FDA clearance for their 3D Printed spine cage

4WEB Medical Announces FDA Clearance of Lateral Spine Truss System (press release)
List of 3D-Printers in Orthopedics & Spine
“The Lateral Spine Truss System represents a significant advancement in treatment options for lateral spine surgery,” said Frank Cammisa, MD, Professor and Chief Emeritus of the Spine Service at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. “As evidenced in recent porous metal product launches, many companies have failed to recognize the full design potential of what 3D printing brings to the orthopedic arena. 4WEB’s proprietary truss implant technology leverages fundamental engineering principles in structural mechanics to address important clinical issues such as implant subsidence after lateral access surgery.”
The Lateral Spine Truss System launch will include a wide array of sizing options and integrated instrumentation. Additionally, the lateral implants will feature smart single-sterile packaging to ensure sterility, improve operating room efficiencies, and allow access to global markets where sterile packaging is a requirement.
“4WEB has achieved a significant milestone that allows us to address the majority of fusion procedures and approaches performed today. We now offer Truss Implant Technology for every mainstream surgical technique used in spine surgery,” said Jim Bruty, Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing of 4WEB. “4WEB will continue to be on the cutting edge with meaningful innovation in spine surgery by pioneering implant function through structural design.”
4WEB Medical is an implant device company founded in 2008 in Frisco, Texas. Thirty years of research in topological dimension theory led to the discovery of a novel geometry, the 4WEB, that can be used as a building block to create high-strength, lightweight web structures. The company leveraged this breakthrough along with cutting-edge 3D printing technology to develop 4WEB Medical’s proprietary truss implant platform. The 4WEB Medical product portfolio currently includes the Cervical Spine Truss System, the ALIF Spine Truss System, the Posterior Spine Truss System, the Lateral Spine Truss System, and the Osteotomy Truss System. 4WEB is actively developing truss implant designs for knee, hip, trauma and patient specific orthopedic procedures. Over 10,000 of 4WEB’s truss implants have been utilized in surgery since 2013.
For more information about 4WEB Medical, 4WEB’s Truss Implant Technology, and the Spine Truss Systems, please visitwww.4WEBMedical.com.
Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160727/393378
SOURCE 4WEB Medical
Related Links
http://www.4webmedical.com

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Globus acquires Alphatec Spine's international business for $80M

Alphatec Holdings Announces Sale of International Business to Globus Medical (HealthPointCaptial)
Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATEC), the parent company of Alphatec Spine, Inc., a global provider of spinal fusion technologies, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Globus Medical (NYSE:GMED), a leading musculoskeletal implant manufacturer, whereby Globus will acquire Alphatec’s international operations and distribution channel for a purchase price of $80 million. As part of the transaction, Globus has also agreed to provide Alphatec a five-year senior secured credit facility of up to $30 million.
Alphatec expects to use portions of the cash consideration to pay down approximately $69 million of existing debt and debt-related costs. The new term loan from Globus, in conjunction with a planned revolving line of credit from MidCap Financial, provides the company with sufficient liquidity and appropriate financing to successfully support Alphatec’s transition to a U.S. market based company.
Under the terms of the agreement, Globus will acquire Alphatec’s international distribution operations and agreements, including Alphatec’s wholly-owned subsidiaries in Japan and Brazil and substantially all of the assets of Alphatec’s remaining international business, including its sales operations in the United Kingdom and Italy. This transaction includes a supply agreement through which Alphatec will supply its products to Globus for up to five years. Alphatec will agree to not compete in the international market for the term of the supply agreement plus an additional two years.
“This transaction will provide Alphatec with a stronger balance sheet, better capital structure and improved cash resources. This enhanced liquidity will enable the company to support the continued expansion in the U.S. of our Arsenal™ Degenerative System, Arsenal Deformity System, Battalion™ Universal Interbody System and the launches of our new Battalion Lateral System and XYcor® Expandable Spinal Spacer System, both of which we expect to launch later this year. We estimate that the U.S. constitutes nearly 65% of the world’s spinal fusion market,” said Jim Corbett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alphatec Spine. “I would like to acknowledge and thank our great team of employees who have built a strong international business, and I am confident that our international employees will continue to thrive under Globus’ leadership.”
As Alphatec realigns its business to focus solely on the U.S. market, the company anticipates reducing its operating expenses by $20 million over the next two years, reflecting the needs of a U.S.-centric organization. In addition, the company expects that its stronger liquidity and financial foundation can support annual capital instrument investments of approximately $10 million. These investments will be used to drive the commercial expansion of its new product lines, which are expected to contribute substantially to its planned growth profile.
The closing is contingent on a number of conditions, including the entry into credit agreements involving the company’s lender, MidCap Financial, and Globus. The parties expect the closing of the acquisition to occur by October 2016 following satisfaction of the applicable closing conditions. Alphatec intends to host an investor conference call following the closing of the transaction during which it expects to offer additional expectations for the business.
Mr. Corbett commented, “We are grateful to the teams at MidCap Financial and Deerfield and appreciate the continued support that our financial partners have provided to Alphatec.”
Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Alphatec in this transaction.
ABOUT ALPHATEC SPINE
Alphatec Spine, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphatec Holdings, Inc., is a global medical device company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets spinal fusion technology products and solutions for the treatment of spinal disorders associated with disease and degeneration, congenital deformities and trauma. The Company’s mission is to improve lives by delivering advancements in spinal fusion technologies. The Company and its affiliates market products in the U.S. and internationally via a direct sales force and independent distributors.
Additional information can be found at www.alphatecspine.com.
ABOUT GLOBUS MEDICAL
Globus Medical, Inc. is a leading musculoskeletal implant company based in Audubon, PA. The company was founded in 2003 by an experienced team of professionals with a shared vision to create products that enable surgeons to promote healing in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Additional information can be accessed at www.globusmedical.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
The Company cautions you that statements included in this Current Report on Form 8-K that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainty. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions you that there can be no assurance that actual results or business conditions will not differ materially from those projected or suggested in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Forward looking statements include the references to the timing and likelihood of the closing occurring and the expected amount of debt repayments using the closing payment. The important factors that could cause actual operating results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the Company’s and the buyer’s ability to satisfy the conditions to closing for the proposed transaction on the anticipated timeline or at all; the Company’s ability to execute on its business plan and conduct its business in the ordinary course between signing of the Purchase Agreement and the closing; disruption of the Company’s business and diversion of its management’s time and attention in order to transition the international business and close the transaction; the Company’s ability to reduce its operating expenses by $20 million over the next two years; the Company not realizing the full economic benefit from the transaction, including as a result of indemnification claims under the definitive agreement and the retention by the Company of certain liabilities associated with the international business; the Company’s ability to meet its obligations under the supply agreement; the uncertainty of success in developing new products or products currently in the Company’s pipeline, including the products discussed in this press release; and other risks detailed in the Company’s public periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update this report to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
CONTACT: Investor/Media Contact:
Christine Zedelmayer
Investor Relations
Alphatec Spine, Inc.
(760) 494-6610
[email protected]

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Zimmer Biomet's answer to Value-Based Care is its new program Signature Solutions

Zimmer Biomet’s Answer to Value-Based Care (MDDI)
The orthopedic giant is packaging services and technologies into an offering aimed at helping hospitals and providers adjust to and thrive under the value-based reimbursement model. 
Zimmer Biomet Holdings is using a new approach to maneuver the rapidly shifting reimbursement landscape. On Tuesday, the orthopedics heavyweight announced its new Signature Solutions offering of clinical services and technologies, intended to help clients tackle the new business models expected in a value-based care environment.
Signature Solutions is an offering that company executives seemed to hint at earlier this year when discussing the impact of bundled payment models with industry analysts.
In recent years, payment models focused on the care continuum have become mainstream in the medtech industry. Announced last year, the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model has led clinicians, hospitals, and orthopedic companies to pay closer attention to patient rehabilitation and post-acute care. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is transforming payment models further. Other countries are in on the transition too. These models all emphasize good clinical outcomes and cost savings throughout. Stryker, a competitor to Zimmer Biomet, has its Stryker Performance Solutions business, which is also focused on the bundled payment approach.
The new Signature Solutions offering with take Zimmer Biomet’s consulting services and combine it with clinical services and technologies—some that the company already has and some that will be added through acquisitions and partnerships, according to a press release. The offering will be available to certain U.S. academic centers at first, “Signature Solutions will encapsulate our exclusive and extensive knowledge of the new healthcare landscape into the first end-to-end suite of clinical services, technologies, and proprietary analytical tools, which are designed to work seamlessly with the institutions’ existing infrastructure to improve quality outcomes, provide more efficient care, and increase provider throughput,” David Dvorak, Zimmer Biomet president and CEO, said in the release.
Signature Solutions will include interactive tools to engage and educate patients on procedures, treatments, and rehabilitation; a platform for hospitals to gather and analyze patient-reported outcomes data; and consulting, digital health software, and personalized medical devices. All of these elements are anticipated to improve patient outcomes, facilitate reimbursement, and make the entire process more efficient.
While Zimmer Biomet hasn’t elaborated on the exact partnerships and acquisitions that may be added to the Signature Solutions offering, company executives have discuss the potential for such a comprehensive solution before. During Zimmer Biomet’s first quarter earnings call in April, Daniel Florin, chief financial officer, said, “Going back a decade now we’ve been building out a comprehensive set of not only implant solutions, but services in a comprehensive nature in anticipation of a world that would be more consistent with what CJR is contemplating, that is how do we go about developing deeper partnerships with customers to bring higher quality of care in the most cost-efficient way possible,” according to the Seeking Alpha earnings call transcript.
In another hint at the time, Dvorak also added, “There are limited numbers of companies that can sit at the table with the offerings that we have to bring value to that conversation and be able to follow through and deliver. So we’re excited about the opportunity and you’re going to hear a lot more from us going forward on that front.”
Todd Dietrick, MD, orthopaedic surgeon at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, CA, said in Tuesday’s release, “Over the past year, we engaged Signature Solutions’ expert consulting services to guide our clinical and operational teams to improve the value of our orthopaedic program by creating standards for patient optimization and surgical performance. The new technologies and digital software components will further enhance the utility of Signature Solutions and provide healthcare institutions with an all-in-one solution to optimize performance in a value-based care model.”
Marie Thibault is the managing editor at MD+DI. Reach her at [email protected] and on Twitter@medtechmarie.
 
 
 

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Studies: Amniotic Membrane Tissue improves Foot & Ankle outcomes

Studies Show Amniotic Membrane Tissue Improve Foot, Ankle Outcomes (ODTMag)

Amniox Medical Inc., a TissueTech Inc. company, highlighted the results of two studies presented at the recent American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Annual Meeting. Dr. David Garras of Midwest Orthopaedic Consultants, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Dr. Ryan Scott, of the CORE Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., presented Plantar Fasciitis Treatment with Particulate Human Amniotic Membrane. Drs. Donald Covell, Bruce Cohen, Kent Ellington, Carroll Jones, Hodges Davis, and Robert Anderson, all from OrthoCarolina Foot and Ankle Institute in Charlotte, N.C., presented The Use of Cryo-Preserved Umbilical Cord Plus Amniotic Membrane Tissue in the Resection of Tarsal Coalition.
Garras’ findings involved 60 patients treated with ultrasound-guided injections of Clarix Flo particulate umbilical cord and amniotic membrane. An interim review of patients who had completed the full 18-week follow-up period demonstrated that all treatments showed statistically significant reduction of foot pain as well as an increase in foot ankle ability movement for both daily living and sports subscales. Garras concluded that Clarix Flo significantly decreased pain from baseline and improved overall functional recovery.
Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain, affecting 1 million patients annually. Conservative therapies are ineffective in 10 to 15 percent of patients. Other available treatments including corticosteroids and surgery can carry risks such as plantar fascia rupture, biomechanical instability and post-operative pain.

To read the full feature, see it at ODTmag – Studies Show Amniotic Membrane Tissue Improve Foot, Ankle Outcomes

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