Spine Market: A Perfect Storm
Article preview reprinted Medtech Insight - November, 2008
While most Wall Street analysts predict that the current economic crisis will have little effect on the spine industry over the long haul, there are storm clouds on the horizon that should put spine product manufacturers on guard.
Spine Market: A Perfect Storm
Article preview reprinted Medtech Insight - November, 2008
As the financial markets continue on their erratic course, the spine market is also bracing for changes that will likely put this industry on a rocky road for some time. While most Wall Street analysts predict that the current economic crisis will have little effect on the spine industry over the long haul, there are storm clouds on the horizon that should put spine product manufacturers on guard. With crackdowns by the Department of Justice (DOJ) tipping over into the spine arena and whistleblower lawsuits regarding surgeon/industry relationships in the news, along with several important bills before Congress—such as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, the Transparency in Medical Devices Act, and the Medical Device Safety Act, all designed to change how the business of spine surgery is done—current financial constraints may be only the tip of the iceberg in terms of things to come.
With increased government regulation and oversight impacting the medical device industry as a whole, companies will find it harder and more costly to obtain approval to market new products or modify existing ones. Reimbursement remains the key driver in terms of new technology adoption, and while payors have already put the brakes on covering new technologies such as artificial lumbar discs, there are several high-profile products already on the market that are reported to be at risk. All of this comes at a time when credit is tight, access to capital is limited, and the public markets remain closed, giving many small companies reason for alarm.
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Companies mentioned in this article:
Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Spine Alphatec Holdings
Alphatec Spine
Applied Spine Technologies
BioNet Holding GMBH Scil Technology GMBH Biomet
Blackstone Medical
Exactech
Altiva
ISTO Technologies
Integra LifeSciences Holdings
IsoTis
Interventional Spine
Johnson & Johnson DePuy Spine
K2M
Medtronic
Medtronic Sofamor Danek NuVasive
Orthofix International NV Orthofix
Orthovita
Osiris Therapeutics
Pioneer Surgical Technology RayMedica
Spinal Elements
Stryker
Synthes
Zimmer Holdings
Centerpulse AG Zimmer Spine
Medtech Insight delivers the quality content you need on medical technologies impacting the spectrum of surgical, orthopedic, cardiovascular, and other markets. Written and edited by seasoned industry participants and experts, the Medtech Insight newsletter provides insights into the technology and market developments (devices, instrumentation, biomaterials, gene therapy, tissue engineering, etc.) impacting a wide range of surgical and non-surgical clinical practices (cardiothoracic & vascular surgery, general surgery, orthopedics & spine surgery, interventional radiology/cardiology, etc.). Learn more at www.medtechinsight.com.
