Exactech, Inc., a developer and producer of innovative implants, instrumentation, and smart technologies for joint replacement surgery, announced the acquisition of a minority interest in JointMedica Limited, a U.K.-based orthopaedic device designer and manufacturer. The companies will collaborate to deliver the next generation of hip resurfacing to the global market with JointMedica’s primary product, the Polymotion® hip implant.
Derek McMinn MD, FRCS, and Ronan Treacy, MD, FRCS, the original designers of the well-documented Birmingham Hip Resurfacing device◊ (BHR®◊), have partnered to develop another major advancement in hip replacement. The Polymotion device combines proven design principles with an innovative metal-on-polyethylene bearing surface.
“This partnership will bring to market JointMedica’s advanced polyethene hip resurfacing, using Exactech’s global outreach,” said McMinn. “Demand for less invasive and less traumatic surgery remains—particularly in younger or more active patients. Our partnership with Exactech will expand on the clinical success of the Birmingham Hip.”
With more than three decades of experience using hard-on-hard articulations in hip resurfacings, McMinn and Treacy designed the Polymotion hip to leverage the clinically successful design principles of previous hip resurfacing devices, now with advanced polyethylene and titanium manufacturing technology. The Polymotion hip offers the biomechanical benefits of hip resurfacing but eliminates metal-on-metal articulating surfaces.
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“In this specialist space, our familiarity with the BHR and its design process allows us to ensure that we are offering substantial next-level improvements, using modern materials and advanced manufacturing techniques that were not available when Prof. McMinn and Dr. Treacy developed the BHR device in the 1990s,” said Terence Smith, Managing Director of JointMedica.
According to Sharat Kusuma, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Exactech, who previously learned the resurfacing procedure from Prof. McMinn and Dr. Treacy, and has first-hand clinical experience implanting the BHR, “Both Exactech and JointMedica fundamentally understand that hip resurfacing offers significant advantages for specialist hip surgeons and multiple patient groups. Because we are partnering at an early stage, we can incorporate learnings from previous resurfacing market efforts to deliver even greater value to our surgeon partners and their patients.”
“Exactech has a proven track record of success when partnering with surgeons at early stages of new advancements in arthroplasty solutions. Our industry-leading Equinoxe® shoulder system is evidence of our acumen in such collaborations,” said Darin Johnson, CEO of Exactech. “Given Drs. McMinn and Treacy’s impressive history in hip resurfacing implant design, we remain confident that the Polymotion is well placed to address the known limitations of existing hip resurfacings.”
At its peak in 2007, the global aggregated hip resurfacing market was reported to be approximately $270 million. The Polymotion will be available in targeted markets on a country-by-country basis following regulatory approvals.
Source: Biospace
