ARTICLE SUMMARY:
With a new orthopedic biomaterial that unites the healing properties of biologics with the strength of load-bearing implants, Orthomod can operate in spine, trauma, cancer-related bone void filling, and other applications.
More than 20 years ago, neurosurgeon David Kirschman founded X-Spine Systems, a start-up that developed less invasive hardware for spine treatment. After X-Spine was sold to orthobiologics company Bacterin for $86 million in 2015, it became Xtant Medical, which continues to offer a complementary portfolio of orthobiologics and spinal fixation devices.
But in the ensuing years, Kirschman always felt he had unfinished business, what he calls, “The Unanswered Question” in spine. In most orthopedic and spine surgeries, there are two categories of products, he points out. Fixation products that are hardware—bone screws, plates, cages—which, made of titanium or very strong polymers, can mechanically support the spine and vertebrae. “That’s one half of the implant industry,” he says. Biologics, including bone grafts, cadaver-sourced materials, allograft, and regenerative products, constitute the other half. “You have strong stuff that holds, but doesn’t heal bone, and weaker stuff that heals bone but isn’t designed for load-bearing. For the past two decades I have always wondered why no one has ever invented a product that has both properties: strength and the promotion of healing.”
