Four leading orthopedic sports medicine physicians discuss how biologics are being used in sports medicine and what impact they will have on sports medicine in the future.

Insurance carriers across the country are scaling back the coverage indications for spine surgery, which could potentially leave spine surgeons without the ability to treat thousands of patients who could benefit from surgical intervention. Spine surgeons and societies have been working to increase awareness of the efficacy of surgical intervention for the appropriate patients, but it hasn't been an easy road.

Wright Medical Group has entered into a supply and distribution agreement with ArthroCare to distribute devices associated with soft tissue fixation of the foot and ankle, according to a Wright Medical news release.

Stryker Sustainability Solutions is a division of Stryker devoted to reprocessing and remanufacturing single-use medical devices. Stryker acquired the company formerly known as Ascent over the past year and a half and became the only major orthopedic device companies to have a place in the medical device reprocessing market. Senior Director of Marketing and Public Affairs of Stryker Sustainability Solutions Lars Thording discusses how the reprocessing of medical devices can benefit hospitals, device companies and the environment.

Since June:

Medical device company ArthroCare sold its Parallax and Contour products, which are used during spine surgery, to NeuroTherm.

Sports medicine device company Cayenne Medical entered into a co-marketing partnership with Parametrics Medical to market Parametrics' allografts, which are designed to enhance knee ligament reconstruction options.

Both Salient Surgical Technologies and PEAK Surgical were acquired by Medtronic on the same day for a grand total of $645 million. Medtronic previously held ownership in both companies and is awaiting government and regulatory review.

Privately-held equity fund Altor Fund II acquired Orchid Orthopedic Solutions from Churchill Equity. Altor Fund II has agreed to support Orchid's continued growth and international expansion.

Orthopedic device company Shoulder Options has partnered again with Kapstone Medical to accelerate the commercialization of Shoulder Options' technologies. The companies previously collaborated on achieving FDA clearance for a rotator cuff repair plate.

Smith & Nephew signed a distribution agreement with Graftys, a company focused on producing injectable bone void filler products.

Stryker Joint Preservation partnered with RegenLab to distribute Stryker's RegenKit-THT for the preparation of autologous platelet-rich plasma, which is designed to reduce preparation steps and improve OR efficiency.

Synthes entered into an exclusive worldwide collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company. The two companies will jointly develop site-specific osteoinductive products based on Synthes' biomaterials and Lilly's biologics or pharmaceuticals business.

This year:

Integra LifeSciences bought SeaSpine, a spinal fusion device company, for $89 million in cash. The combination of SeaSpine's portfolio with Integra LifeSciences' existing spine business will make its spine and orthobiologics portfolio the largest component of the company.

Interventional Spine and DSM Biomedical entered into a license and supply agreement which allows Interventional Spine to use DSM proprietary polymer Bionate PCU in its Percutaneous Dynamic Stabilization system. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed but contain a mix of royalties on devices sold and annual fees.

Medical device giant Johnson & Johnson acquired Synthes for $21.3 billion. The DePuy Family of Companies, a J&J subsidiary, will merge its orthopedics portfolio with Synthes' innovations in trauma, spine cranio-maxillofacial and power tools.

Kensey Nash recently acquired the assets of Synthes subsidiary Norian for $22 million. Kensey Nash will manufacture Norian produces and Synthes will exclusively distribute them.

Spine device company Premia Spine has acquired assets of Impliant, which includes 16 worldwide patents. Premia plans to commercially launch the TOPS System and its adjunct Versalink Fixation System during the third quarter of 2011.

Stryker entered into a merger agreement with Orthovita, acquiring the company's common stock for $316 million. Stryker will commence an all-cash tender offer to acquire Orthovita's outstanding common stock as well, and acquire the remaining outstanding shares through a second merger.

Related Articles on Device Companies:
29 Orthopedic and Spine Devices Receive FDA 510(k) Clearance in June
WSJ: Johnson & Johnson Hip Implants Set Off Pricey Mass Litigation
Discounted Orthopedic Devices May Be the Future for Small Companies

Medtronic recently acquired two medical device companies, Salient Surgical Technologies and PEAK Surgical, for a total of $645 million, according to company news releases.

ArthroCare, a medical device company, sold its Parallax and Contour product lines to NeuroTherm, according to a Zacks report.

Small medical device companies are bypassing expensive sales tactics by offering big discounts on orthopedic devices to remain competitive in the market, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

ConforMIS has recently received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for two of its patient-specific implants, the iDuo G2 for partial knee replacements and the iTotal for total knee replacements. The iTotal achieved clearance earlier this year, and now the company is undergoing expansion to meet the market needs for its product.

A former football player for the University of Utah has filed a lawsuit against Stryker after one of the company's implantable pain pumps caused severe cartilage loss, according to a Desert News report.