Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1489874
28 DEVICES & IMPLANTS Surgalign to discontinue some products as part of corporate restructuring By Carly Behm S urgalign's board of directors on Nov. 8 approved a corporate restructuring program that's expected to save the company $30 million to $35 million in 2023. e plan aims to put a greater focus on new products according to a Nov. 9 company news release. rough the fourth quarter of 2022 and into early 2023, lower performing products will be discontinued so the company can redeploy resources. Surgalign didn't specify which products would be discontinued. e company also plans to incur about $3 million to $3.5 million in employee-related severance costs and $2.5 million to $3.5 million in other disposal costs during the fourth quarter of 2022. "We intend to take aggressive steps to realign our business and improve our market position and value creation opportunities," President and CEO Terry Rich said in the release. "Our focus is on innovation and better serving our customers with the products and support they need to improve patient outcomes. We believe these programs will enable us to generate growth in areas we are focused on, enhance gross margins and lower expenses, and over time, improve our financial position by freeing up resources to invest in areas we believe hold the greatest promise. Implementation of these programs will be dependent on the outcome of financing initiatives currently underway." n Globus Medical co-founder named CEO of spine company By Carly Behm Happe Spine named Andrew Iott as its president and CEO, the devicemaker said Dec. 7. Mr. Iott has more than 20 years of experience in the medtech industry and is a co-founder of Globus Medical, according to a news release. His appointment comes as Happe Spine prepares to launch its Integrate-C cervical interbody spinal fusion cage. In March, Mr. Iott was added to Happe Spine's board of directors. "I'm convinced that the spine and broader orthopaedic industry are looking for implants that make a leap forward in material science to provide an enhanced platform for osteointegration and Happe is that material," Mr. Iott said in the release. "I am looking forward to working with this team to launch market disrupting products." The company's Happe platform has interconnected, cancellous porosity with exposed hydroxyapatite on pore surfaces. It is designed for stong bone in-growth and on- growth. n NuVasive's 'intelligent surgery' vision: 4 earnings call notes By Carly Behm N uVasive saw key milestones for its spine technologies in the third quarter, according to a Nov. 9 earnings call. Four notes: 1. In the third quarter, NuVasive saw more net sales from its cervical spine portfolio than any other quarter in its history, CEO Chris Barry said, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha. 2. NuVasive's Pulse spine platform was used in its first case at an ASC and for the first time in Australia during the third quarter, Mr. Barry said. 3. e company is honing in on "intelligent surgery" and extending the capabilities of the Pulse platform: "Unlike other orthopedic segments, the spine industry has been challenged to drive clinical standardization due to the variability in outcomes," Mr. Barry said. "Outcomes will improve when clinical decisions are fact based and not subjective, and enabling technology supports this focused effort. To achieve better outcomes, we must help surgeons identify whether a patient is an appropriate surgical candidate, what the right procedure is for the patient, will it lead to the patient's desired outcome, and whether the surgeon achieved that intended outcome. To do so, we need to provide data and advanced planning preoperatively." 4. NuVasive continued outpacing the global spine market and saw an increase in procedure volumes in the third quarter, Mr. Barry said. Low-acuity thoracolumbar and cervical procedures saw a significant increase, while higher acuity cases haven't rebounded as fast. n