Becker's Spine Review

22 DEVICES & IMPLANTS DePuy Synthes pays $9.75M to settle kickback allegations involving spine implants By Carly Behm D ePuy Synthes, Johnson & Johnson's orthopedic company, is paying $9.75 million to resolve allegations that it gave an orthopedic surgeon free spinal implants that were used in overseas cases, the Justice Department said Jan. 20. From at least July 2013 through February 2018, DePuy admitted to providing free spinal implants and tools to a Massachusetts orthopedic surgeon hoping they would use them in U.S. cases, according to a news release. e surgeon used the devices to perform surgeries overseas for patients who didn't have federal healthcare benefits. A former sales representative for DePuy filed the original lawsuit under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Of the total settlement, about $7.23 million will be returned to the federal government. e other $2.52 million will be returned to the state of Massachusetts, which jointly funded claims for the surgeries involving the devices. A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson Medtech said in a Jan. 20 email to Becker's that the company has fully cooperated with the investigation and the settlement "avoids further lengthy legal processes." n Zimmer Biomet COO expects to beat Stryker to market for shoulder robot By Carly Behm Z immer Biomet's robotic shoulder application could come sooner than Stryker's, COO Ivan Tornos said in a Feb. 3 earnings call. A few days earlier, Stryker's Vice President of Investor Relations Jason Beach said in an earnings call that the company's robotic shoulder was expected to launch toward the end of 2024. During Zimmer Biomet's earnings call, Mr. Tornos was asked about the company's robotic shoulder opportunity in light of Stryker's timeline. While he didn't provide a specific timeline, Mr. Tornos said a launch could be soon. "I'll tell you frankly, I'll be very surprised if we're not first to market, given where we are in the development cycle," Mr. Tornos said, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha. "My expectation remains that we're going to be ahead." Mr. Tornos also said Zimmer Biomet in 2022 exceeded 300 installations of the Rosa total joint replacement robot and "exceeded that expectation across all three regions." n ZimVie's cervical disc surpasses 200,000 implantations By Carly Behm Z imVie, Zimmer Biomet's spine and dental company, reached a milestone with its Mobi-C cervical disc implant, the devicemaker said Jan. 30. More than 200,000 Mobi-C discs have been implanted, according to a news release. The disc has been used in patients across more than 25 countries. The first case was completed in 2004 in France, and in 2013, Mobi-C became the first cervical disc to earn FDA approval for more than one level. The FDA found Mobi-C was "statistically superior" to spinal fusion at seven years for two-level disc replacement, and at 10 years, patient-reported outcomes were the same or better from seven years. "Having participated in the Mobi-C investigational device exemption study over a decade ago, I am encouraged that disc replacement has become an emerging standard of care for patients with cervical disc degeneration," spine surgeon Armen Khachatryan, MD, said in the release. ZimVie's dedication to this space has enabled so many patients to benefit from the technology …. I sincerely hope that this transition from fusion to motion preserving disc replacement technology will not only continue but accelerate in the coming years." n

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