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Jumping on the Vertebroplasty Bandwagon

With estimates for the number of current procedures now at 35,000-40,000 and growing, established spinal orthopedics companies are beginning to cash in on the rapidly growing use of bone cements and cement delivery systems for vertebral compression fracture repair, or vertebroplasty. To date, Cook Group and Medtronic Sofamor Danek have been supplying the majority of kits. Danek also recently began selling a PMMA resin tailored for vertebroplasty, and Stryker has indicated that it too has its sights set on the vertebroplasty opportunity: it is currently reformulating one of its existing cement products for use in vertebroplasty. That Stryker and Danek-- both industry leaders in orthopedics - are positioning themselves in this market suggests that it may be the next hot area in spine.

Just a few months ago, medical device industry analysts were estimating the number of current US vertebroplasties—a rapid, percutaneous technique for repairing spinal compression fractures by injecting bone cement into the vertebral body—to be around 12,000-20,000 annually. The number appears to be much higher, however—closer to 35,000-40,000, and growing. With at least 200,000 potential patients in the US alone, principally elderly, osteoporotic individuals with persistent pain that is currently treated with narcotics and immobilization, and spurred by consumer demand for an alternative, the near-term market opportunity for the sale of bone cement and delivery systems appears to be at least several hundred million dollars.

Although companies and practitioners are each angling for a piece of the action, getting a handle on the scope of...

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