LONDON, Jan. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Smith &
Nephew plc (NYSE: SNN; LSE: SN), the global medical technology
business, announces the acquisition of BST-CarGel®, a
first-line cartilage repair product used along with microfracture
and other bone marrow stimulation techniques for the initial
treatment of most sizes of focal cartilage tears. Through this
transaction, an affiliate of Smith & Nephew plc will acquire
ownership of all product and intellectual property assets related
to BST-CarGel from Piramal Healthcare (Canada) Limited, based in Montreal, Canada, an affiliate of the
Piramal Enterprises Limited.
Approved for use in a number of countries around the world,
including Australia, Canada and most of Europe, BST-CarGel is a biopolymer-based
solution that is mixed with a patient's blood and implanted into
the joint following a microfracture procedure. BST-CarGel can be
delivered arthroscopically and can be used to treat damaged
cartilage in synovial joints such as the knee, hip, ankle and
shoulder. Once implanted, it acts as a scaffold, adhering to the
cartilage surface to stabilize the blood clot while new cartilage
is regenerated.
An international, Level 1, randomized clinical trial involving
80 patients with grade III and IV femoral cartilage lesions
demonstrated that microfracture with BST-CarGel yielded
statistically significant improvements in both quantity and quality
of repair tissue when compared to microfracture alone at one and
five years post-op.i BST-CarGel also resulted in fewer
structural failures after five years – offering added consistency
to microfracture cases.
ii
"BST-CarGel augments our existing joint repair portfolio with a
new option that is differentiated with strong clinical evidence and
targets an area of significant patient need and surgeon demand,"
explains Scott Schaffner, Vice
President, Sports Medicine for Smith & Nephew. "We are
committed to seeking and investing in next-generation technologies
to widen access across our global customer base."
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Editor's Note:
Microfracture is a surgical option for
treating small areas of damaged articular cartilage. During the
procedure, the cartilage area is prepared by removing loose or
damaged tissue. A surgical tool is then used to create a series of
small, microfracture holes to access the bone's vascular layer.
When blood cells from the vascular layer travel through these holes
to the bone's surface, they can stimulate new cartilage growth.
Microfracture surgery is not recommended for patients with
widespread cartilage damage such as arthritis.
About Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business
dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve people's
lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction,
Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma &
Extremities, Smith & Nephew has around 14,000 employees and a
presence in more than 100 countries. Annual sales in 2014 were more
than $4.6 billion. Smith & Nephew
is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN).
For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit our
corporate website www.smith-nephew.com, follow @SmithNephewplc on
Twitter or visit SmithNephewplc on Facebook.com
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Certain marks registered US Patent and Trademark Office.
i Stanish WD, McCormack R, Forriol F, Mohtadi N,
Pelet S, Desnoyers J, et al. Novel scaffold-based
BST-CarGel® treatment results in superior cartilage repair compared
with microfracture in a randomized controlled trial. J Bone
Joint
Surg Am. 2013;95:1640-50.
ii Shive MS, Stanish WD,
McCormack R, Forriol F, Mohtadi N, Pelet S, Desnoyers J, Methot S,
Vehik K, Restrepo A, BST-CarGel® treatment maintains cartilage
repair superiority over microfracture at 5 years in a multicenter
randomized controlled trial. Cartilage 2015, Vol. 6(2) 62-72
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SOURCE Smith & Nephew