Spine surgery is a medical device market unlike any other. In other segments of the device world, major company acquirers and financial investors wait until firms have worked all the risk out of the proposition and have sales to prove it. But in spine, major players have recently spent $1.5 billion to acquire five companies at pre-revenue stages. In 2002, Medtronic Inc. led off the bidding with its purchase of Spinal Dynamics Corp. (for its Bryan Cervical Disc System) for $270 million [See Deal], and Synthes-Stratec was the next to step up, purchasing Spine Solutions Inc. (developer of the ProDisc artificial disc) for $350 million in February 2003. [See Deal] Three months later, Johnson & Johnson 's DePuy AcroMed Inc. gained the leading artificial disc (Charite), by acquiring Link Spine Group Inc. for $325 million [See Deal], and Abbott Laboratories Inc. subsequently gained an entrée into spine with its acquisition of Spinal Dynamics in June 2003 for $170 million. [See Deal]Stryker Corp. recently paid a hefty $360 million for SpineCore Inc. (and its FlexiCore artificial disc). [See Deal]
Spine companies are indeed acquired early in their development cycles, particularly when compared to other medical device industries. This past...
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