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Over 100 Patients in Europe Treated with the OsseoFix Spinal
Fracture Reduction System for Vertebral Compression Fractures
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Over 40 Surgeons Trained in Europe with Next Training Session
Oversubscribed
Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATEC), the parent company of Alphatec
Spine, Inc., a medical device company that designs, develops,
manufactures and markets products for the surgical treatment of spine
disorders, with a focus on treating conditions related to the aging
spine, today announced that, as of June 1, 2009, over 115
patients in eight European countries have been treated with the
OsseoFix™ Spinal Fracture Reduction System, the Company’s innovative
product for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures. The first
European training session was held at the University of Vienna in
mid-December 2008. The first shipments of OsseoFix products into Europe
occurred at the end of December 2008.
“We are pleased with the significant surgeon adoption of OsseoFix across
Europe. Surgeons who are using the OsseoFix system benefit from the
potential to improve patient outcomes by providing an enhanced ability
for vertebral height maintenance while using less cement as a result of
the permanent titanium implant. As this product represents our initial
launch into the aging spine market, we are particularly pleased with the
manner in which the adoption of OsseoFix appears to be accelerating.
Over 60 patients were treated in May alone,” said Dirk Kuyper, Alphatec
Spine’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kuyper added, “Our
next training lab, which will be held in July in Vienna, is
oversubscribed, with 50 surgeons and over 70 total participants already
enrolled in what will be our third training session.”
The OsseoFix system is not yet approved for sale in the United States
and is currently under 510(K) review with the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
About Vertebral Compression Fractures and the OsseoFix Spinal
Fracture Reduction System
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation there were 700,000
osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures in the U.S., of which only
one-third are estimated to be diagnosed. Common causes of vertebral
compression fractures include osteoporosis, trauma, or a pre-existing
disease at the fracture site.
Currently, the two most common procedures used to treat vertebral
compression fractures are kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty.
