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Issue Date: March 9, 2022 |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
This week we were given some solid material with the Nextremity acquisition by Medartis. Always fun to see moves in our world. We then cover some interesting companies that showcased at ACFAS that are ripe for the picking. Finally, we wanted to help promote a big virtual meeting coming up on 3/18. Lots of foot and ankle, lots of big-name presenters, all for a good cause in promoting foot and ankle around the world.
This week, our newsletter list crossed the 16,000 mark. That’s a big deal to us, thank you to everyone who is reading and signing up. All the shares and LinkedIn follow’s are greatly appreciated as we continue to try and grow. The support of the foot and ankle community has been amazing!
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Have a great day,
Big Foot
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This week we have:
- Golden Sawbone of the Week
- Breaking News! Medartis Acquires Nextremity
- Top Acquisition Targets: Specialty Indication and Technology at ACFAS
- FAN Virtual Meeting Recommendation: 24-Hour Global Town Hall
- Access Past FAN Newsletters
- PodiatryMeetings.com Calendar of Events
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GOLDEN SAWBONE OF THE WEEK
Social Media Edition
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Surgical Instagram posts are all good, but great posts include Pre-Op, Intra-Op and Post Op Images. A description of the surgeons thought process and surgical technique pearls make the post outstanding. Our winner this week does all of this on a variety of complex foot and ankle procedures from TAR to Bunions.
Congrats to:
David J Dalstrom, MD
The featured Instagram post this week shows a revision subtalar fusion using a repurposed midfoot nail due to bone loss from previous screw removal.
Take a look and give him a follow! There are tons of train wrecks on his page and some interesting technique tips.
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Follow FAN on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/company/footandanklenews/
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Medartis Acquires Nextremity |
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The Dollars?
Medartis, a Swiss based company known for their hand and wrist portfolio is the US, purchases Nextremity for 40 million cash and another 30 million in milestone payouts if certain product launch and sales targets are met.
So what is Medartis getting?
With this acquisition, Medartis gains access to a highly dedicated and experienced R&D team, strong relationships to US design surgeons and industry thought leaders, a complementary product pipeline, IP portfolio, product knowledge, and a modern regional manufacturing base.
The full press release press release can be found HERE.
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No finished products in the deal?
One thing that should be pointed out, the deal does not come with any of Nextremity’s current products.
Nextremity signed a global, exclusive distribution agreement with Zimmer Biomet back in 2016.
To our knowledge, all previously launched products by Nextremity will remain with Zimmer Biomet.
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What we do not know is if the products announced in 2022 with 510k clearance, but not yet launched will be in the hands of ZB reps or Medartis reps. I would assume the first 2 below stay with Zimmer, but the most recently announced LapiPrep is another story and we have heard that system will go with the sale to Medartis. |
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Short and Long Term Outlook for the Company? |
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Medartis is planting a flag in the Orthopedic Capital of the world and letting everyone know they are going to make a push in the US, specifically in foot in ankle. The acquisition gives them a plan and what we must assume is a solid pipeline of products (120 patents) that are near ready for commercialization. Having manufacturing capabilities and offices in Warsaw, IN gives Medartis a cost-effective way to enter the market and a means to fuel future growth within the US.
According to their 2021 Annual Report that was released this Monday, Medartis projects the Nextremity acquisition to generate 150 million a year, 5 years after initial launch. That is massive year over year growth expectations from a company who did a total of 33 million in US Sales in 2020, mainly in the hand and wrist. For comparison’s sake, Paragon 28 is projecting to do approximately 140 million in 2022, its 12th year in existence.
To do these numbers, they will need to ramp up distribution efforts in a hurry. As of right now, they have a very small presence in foot and ankle. This acquisition does nothing for distribution so they will need to build around their current combination of independent distributors and W2 sales force. New, unique products will attract the attention of established distribution teams and W2 talent.
What about Zimmer Biomet?
The final aspect of the deal to be explored is, how does this affect Zimmer Biomet Foot and Ankle? ZB was essentially outsourcing their innovation pipeline for the last 5 years. It appears that they will still retain some of the benefit of the relationship with the already launched products, but where will they go from here? Will the KOL’s and their sales dollars, who once supported the Zimmer train, bail and move with Nextremity? It seems that way based on the press release.
Big Acquisition? They are a Big 5 Ortho player (7+ Billion in 2020 Sales) with the least understood direction in all of Foot and Ankle. Could they make a big splash and buy an established Foot and Ankle company? The speculation could and will provide some serious content for FAN in the future. Here is a short list of potentially big moves to chew on:
- Paragon 28
- Acumed
- In2Bones
- Nova Step
That is for another day. Read on to learn about some other, smaller potential acquisition plays we saw showcased at ACFAS.
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TOP ACQUISITION PLAYS
Specialty Technology Edition
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ACFAS and the AOFAS Summer Meeting provide companies an opportunity to showcase their product ideas to physician customers for validation, an introduction to distribution partners, and finally to advertise to a potential suitor for acquisition.
With the dust settling from the biggest acquisition of the year thus far in foot and ankle (CrossRoads to Depuy Synthes) and another just breaking this week, it is time we look at who could be the next top acquisition targets.
The major players in foot and ankle will always continue to preach their internal innovation, but as the market matures and their product bags expand, they will need to sell to grow. The massive players are spending most of their resources on becoming fine-tuned sales machines and less on new product development. This is not a bad thing; it allows smaller companies to come to market and test new ideas.
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Ossio – Fiberfest was on in Austin. Ossio is selling a platform that is not for everyone, but it does not have to be. The niche aspect could provide a larger market player a new shiny toy their sales force can talk about to gain incremental sales growth on a national level. If Ossio can create a few products past bone pins and screws it has a great shot to be acquired. The cost to create these products and get them to market at a scale that indicates potential market adoption is the big question. Ossio is rumored to carry a very large price tag. Investors in Ossio want a return on their investment but their current portfolio may not be enough to get that big payday. They have something brewing, lets see how it plays out.
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Artelon – The soft tissue market in Foot and Ankle is massive. Artelon is positioning its lateral ankle system against the Arthrex’s Internal Brace. Artelon’s unique selling point is a synthetic graft material that offers some natural recoil versus the rigid stability of Internal Brace. Whether this is true or not, whether it is better or not is not going to be proved today in this newsletter because I have no clue. The point is, it doesn’t matter. It is different. It is a focused product, with potential massive sales potential. Is the product unique enough and worth acquisition or can this one be developed in house? If Artelon can continue their successful marketing blitz and gain positive market and mind share, that value alone could make it an easy acquisition.
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Subchondral Solutions - The S-Core implant for OCD lesions is a novel product concept to preserve motion and bone stock. In the ankle, the product is an alternative to microfracture and OATS procedures and designed to potentially prolong the need for definitive procedures such as fusion or replacement. The first MTP has several options aside from fusion, the use and success of those products is a whole other debate. Cartiva will always be brought up as a financial boom and bust product in this space. Through marketing, strategic KOL’s and literature, the product burst onto the scene and went away just as quickly.
The S-Core seems to have some answers for the failures associated with Cartiva. It also has another approved indication in the knee, which offers large market potential to offset the risk for a larger market player looking to take a chance on the product. Who would have thought we would be talking about another MTP arthroplasty product with big upside so soon?
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FAN VIRTUAL MEETING RECOMMENDATION
Global Town Hall: Sports in Foot & Ankle
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24 Hours. 24 Topics.
Covered by a collection of global thought leaders in foot and ankle surgery who are donating their time and insight to help educate and bring awareness to foot and ankle around the world.
This is something FAN can get behind, sign up below!
When: 3/18/22 to 3/19/22
Start Time: Friday 8:00pm EST
End Time: Saturday 8:00pm EST
This annual meeting is put together by Dr. Selene Parekh, MD and the Parekh Family Foundation. Here is a little background of the foundation and its accomplishments provided by Dr. Parekh:
The Parekh Family Foundation was started in 2008 with the hopes of elevating foot and ankle care globally. Initially our efforts were focused on India, conducting free foot and ankle clinics and camps as well as 3-day educational sessions. Through the years, our efforts increased from one trip a year all the way to three trips a year. In addition, we not only trained orthopedic surgeons, but began a training day for physical therapists. We've been fortunate enough to work in other countries including Mauritius and Kenya to name a couple. We performed the first STAR total ankle replacement in India, published the first Foot and Ankle textbook dedicated to the Asian continent, and many more. We have trained over 2000 surgeons, 1,000 physical therapists, performed over 400 surgeries, and donated over 1500 pairs of shoes.
With COVID, our foundation decided to pivot our efforts in a way that would be virtual but would also be beneficial to the entire world. Last year, in 2021, our first 24-hour course was conducted. We hosted over 1,500 attendees. This free course was available to anyone and everyone around the world. From healthcare providers to orthopedic surgeons to normal citizens of the world, we had people tune in live and interact with our faculty. This year, our course is focused on Foot and Ankle Sports. We hope all of you will be able to join us, for free, and that weekend we have over 2,000 attendees join us.
The course is FREE, but you can donate and learn more about the foundation on the website www.footandanklecourse.com. Dr. Parekh took a ton of time and effort to assemble a solid line-up of topics and speakers from across the globe, so please register, donate a few bucks, and enjoy a great 24 hours of Foot and Ankle.
Speakers and moderators include:
Eric Giza, Tim Daniels, Tom Clanton, Adam Schiff, Johnny Lau, Kamran Hamid, Christion Ortiz, Brian Den Hartog, Alistar Younger, Christopher Miller, Norman Waldrop, Eric Ferkel, James Nunley, John Kwon, Vinod Panchbhavi, Christopher Kreulen, David Walton, Gregg Lundeen, Victor Valderrabano, James Flynn, Alan Yan
This course is sponsored by industry, so we thought we would throw them a bone and post a picture of them for their support. If you have any questions about any of these companies, please visit Dr. Parek’s OR and you should be able to find one of their reps in his room.
Just joking around Dr. Parekh!
Thank you for your service to the foot and ankle community and being a FAN!
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PodiatryMeetings.com Calendar
Looking for a meeting?
This resource has an extensive amount of information for meeting opportunities where you can earn your required continuing education credits.
Click below to access the extensive meeting calendar.
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AOFAS Upcoming Meetings & Courses |
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September 14-17, 2022 | Québec City, Canada
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About Foot and Ankle News & Contact Information
Foot and Ankle News is curated roundup of the most impactful news for Foot and Ankle Doctors, Rep’s, and Exec’s delivered weekly directly to your inbox.
- Breaking News
- Device Technology
- Journal Reviews
- Upcoming Events
- Practice Advice
All of our posts from our weekly email newsletter can be found at www.footandanklenews.com. Our newsletter goes out to over 12,000 foot and ankle surgeons and industry professionals across the country. The articles are created by a group of volunteers and freelance industry insiders. If you you would like to contact us or have an article or topic you would like to share, please submit it to: footandanklenews@gmail.com
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