Tissue Repair Start-Ups Fill Orthopedics' Gaps

Article preview reprinted from Start-Up - April, 2009

Technologies for total joint repair, the backbone of the orthopedics industry, have occupied most of the development resources of orthopedic companies, but there are gaps in the continuum of care when it comes to tendon and ligament repair.

Tissue Repair Start-Ups Fill Orthopedics' Gaps 

Article preview reprinted from Start-Up - April, 2009

ACL reconstruction and rotator cuff repair thus are attractive niches for start-ups, worth anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion. Soft tissue repair expertise is outside the core skill-sets of big ortho, but those companies have been willing to partner and acquire smaller innovative players. Today, the opportunity is even more attractive; sports medicine--the realm of soft tissue repair--enjoys an economic resiliency not seen in total joint replacement. Ligament tears more closely resemble trauma applications, which must be treated as soon as possible.

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Companies mentioned in this article:

ArthroCare Corp.

BioProtect Ltd.

BioSurface Engineering Technologies Inc.

Biomet Inc.

Biomet Sports Medicine Inc.

Cayenne Medical Inc.

ConMed Corp.

ConMed Linvatec

Core Essence Orthopaedics Inc.

Covidien Ltd.

Scandius BioMedical Inc.

Harvard University

Harvard Medical School

ISTO Technologies Inc.

Invibio Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

DePuy Inc.

DePuy Mitek Inc.

KFx Medical Corp.

Kinetic Concepts Inc.

LifeCell Corp.

Lohmann & Rauscher International GMBH & Co. KG

Ortho-Space Ltd.

Pegasus Biologics Inc.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Revivicor Inc.

Serica Technologies Inc.

Smith & Nephew PLC

Soft Tissue Regeneration Inc.

Stryker Corp.

Tornier SA

University of Virginia

Wright Medical Group Inc.

Xylos Corp.

Zimmer Holdings Inc.



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