Becker's Spine Review

49 DEVICES & IMPLANTS Stryker employee admits to accepting $75k bribe to secure contract: 5 things to know By Mackenzie Garrity A lleged Stryker employee Daniel Lawrynowicz pled guilty to one count of violating the Federal Travel Act, according to Patch. Here are five things to know. 1. Eugene Ostrovsky sought out a $5.5 million contract with Stryker. He and two other individuals paid Mr. Lawrynowicz bribes to secure the contract. 2. One payment included $75,000 in cash. Mr. Lawyrnowicz accepted the bribes to secure the contract for Mr. Ostrovsky, who worked at a metallurgical technol- ogy company. 3. The Stryker employee faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He must also return the $75,000 bribe. 4. Mr. Ostrovsky pled guilty in February to violating the Federal Travel Act. He is serving a six-month prison sentence followed by six months of house arrest and two years of supervised release. 5. The U.S. Attorney's Office did not specifically name the medical device com- pany involved in the bribery scheme. However, Mr. Lawrynowicz's LinkedIn pro- file lists Stryker as his employer. n Titanium or PEEK?: 4 trends in spinal fusion implant material selection By Shayna Korol T itanium and PEEK are the ma- jor players in the spinal fusion implant material debate. In an interview with Orthopedic Design & Technology, Titan Spine's Vice President of Marketing Andrew Shep- herd identifies key trends in implant material selection. 1. In the 1990s, titanium cages fell out of favor for spinal fusion technologies because the design of the threaded cylindrical cages damaged the verte- bral endplate during insertion, often leading to subsidence. The implants contained more titanium material rel- ative to today's designs, which caused scatter on CT images and hindered the ability to assess fusion status. "We now know that the combination of interbody device material and design is essential," Mr. Shepherd told ODT. 2. Surgeons are warming to titanium, since there is much less metal in today's implants than the threaded implants of the past that caused visualization con- cerns, according to Mr. Shepherd. He claims that the scatter effect on CT and MRI is now virtually non-existent. 3. As surgeons become more com- fortable with the notion that the im- plant is heavily involved in the bone growth process, the more accepted titanium will become in the industry. Surgeons should be informed of in- terbody device nano-architecture and its ability to drive bone growth. 4. The market is moving toward sur- face-enhanced titanium as the domi- nant spinal interbody fusion technol- ogy material. The next step will be to apply surface technology expertise to other spine and orthopedic applica- tions, Mr. Shepherd claims. n Meet Smith & Nephew's new CEO Namal Nawana — 4 things to know By Laura Dyrda S mith & Nephew named Namal Nawana CEO. Mr. Nawana suc- ceeded CEO Olivier Bohuon, who stepped down May 7. Here are four things to know about Mr. Nawana. 1. Prior to joining Smith & Nephew, Mr. Nawana was CEO of Alere, a medical diag- nostics company that was acquired by Ab- bott for $5.3 billion in 2017. He spent five years at Alere before the acquisition and 15 years at Johnson & Johnson before that. 2. During his time at Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Nawana held several leadership roles and in 2011 became the worldwide presi- dent of DePuy Synthes Spine. He oversaw the transformation of the program, which included a substantial margin improve- ment and integration of Synthes aer it was acquired in 2012. 3. As CEO of Smith & Nephew and chair- man of the board, Mr. Nawana will be em- ployed on the standard U.S. executive con- tract, receiving $1.5 million per year as his annual salary. He will also receive an An- nual Incentive Plan and Performance Share Plan, with awards prorated to reflect the time served in 2018 during that year. 4. As the new CEO, Mr. Nawana will over- see the company's growth and develop- ment. "I am passionate about the medical devices industry where I have worked all my life and it is an honor to become the new chief executive of Smith & Nephew, a company I greatly admire," he said. "I am most excited by its portfolio of innovation which I believe gives an excellent platform from which to drive the business forward into its next exciting chapter." Mr. Bohuon plans to retire Nov. 6, 2018, and will receive salary, benefits and pay- ment in lieu of pension in the interim. n

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