We are pleased to announce that Jim Petricek has joined the team at SmartTRAK as General Manager, Orthobiologics and Regenerative Medicine. Jim has 20+ years operational and management consulting experience in orthobiologics and regenerative medicine with roles in product development, marketing and business development, including prior management positions with BioMimetic Therapeutics and Synthes.

Meet Jim Petricek:

What is your role with SmartTRAK? General Manager Orthobiologics and Regenerative Medicine; Lead Analyst Orthobiologics

What do you like about SmartTRAK? I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with SmartTRAK for many years. The group is very knowledgeable in their respective fields, and while I’m sure not every day is bliss, there is a very palpable sense that everyone really enjoys being part of the SmartTRAK team.

New product introductions and innovative technologies set the stage for AOFAS 2021.

At the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) meeting in Charlotte, NC, SmartTRAK identified several key themes and takeaways from the meeting as manufacturers showcased innovation through new product introductions, continue to focus on hallux valgus corrections and the associated instrumentation allowing for reproducible outcomes and the advancements of 3D printed solutions.

The Luster of New Products Help Drive Healthy Foot & Ankle Competition

The foot & ankle space does not look like it is slowing down anytime soon based on the products highlighted at AOFAS. Innovation is helping to drive growth in the US market for Foot & Ankle Repair and Reconstruction, which is projected to reach a 5-year CAGR of +4.9% according to SmartTRAK’s Foot & Ankle Market Overview. Newsworthy highlights include:

Cheryl Blanchard, President and CEO of Anika Therapeutics, discusses the Company’s metamorphosis from a partnered, single product company into a customer-facing, global joint preservation market player, in an interview with SmartTRAK.

Cheryl Blanchard, PhD, discusses the Company’s remarkable achievements amid a global healthcare crisis and progress made as Anika continues to execute on its Transformational Growth Strategy and grand plan in an interview with SmartTRAK at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (AAOS) 2021 in San Diego, California. To find out more, click on the following audio recording. A link to download the complete transcript of the interview is also provided below.

This Year’s AAOS Annual Meeting was no different--scientific bodies are still divided on the efficacy of HA therapy and it remains a “bête noire” sitting outside of the gold standard for the treatment of patients affected by knee OA.

For some time now, hyaluronic acid (HA) viscosupplement injections (aka intra-articular (IA) HA injections) have become a standard and an integral part of the physician’s armamentarium in the treatment continuum for an ever-growing number of patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis (OA). With OA universally established as the most prevalent form of arthritis afflicting the US population, SmartTRAK estimates that approximately 2.3 million HA injection procedures will be performed for knee OA alone.  Yet, confusion and debates persist over the efficacy of HA therapy, product composition and source of the HA, volume and number of injections, treatment cost and, more recently, regulatory classification for HA products. SmartTRAK believes that the plethora of studies on the use of HA injection that show varied results is ...

To download and read the complete article by Freddy Buntoum, Sr. Analyst, Orthobiologics and Regenerative Medicine at SmartTRAK, please click the button below.

With the fresh scent of optimism in the air, it's time to get out there again and re-connect. SmartTRAK is excited to be attending OTA, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association annual meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, October 20-23. Please reach out if you would like to meet in Ft. Worth and see what SmartTRAK can do for you. We've also put together an overview of the latest trauma news to give you a head start for the meeting.

At SmartTRAK, we constantly monitor the worldwide MedTech industry, sifting through the noise to present to our subscribers the most relevant international news, patents, trends, new products, financial data and competitor developments in the global Life Sciences industry. The following is just a small sampling of recent Trauma related news and updates from around the world compiled, reviewed and posted in real time every day by our SmartTRAK expert analysts.

Patents:

• JNJ/DePuy Synthes* 
  

  DePuy Synthes Products’ US Patent Application “Angled Flutes in Cannulated Bone Screws” was published describing a cannulated bone anchor w/ cutting flutes extending to the distal end of the anchor. 20210307800

• Adaptive Tibiotalocalcaneal Arthrodesis Nail
  A US Patent Application “ADAPTIVE TIBIOTALOCALCANEAL ARTHRODESIS NAIL - NAIL ADAPTER SYSTEM,” submitted by Amr Abdelgawad of Brooklyn, NY was published describing a tibiotalocalcaneal nail & system that has a plurality of effective interfaces. 20210307794

• Arthrex*

  Arthrex was issued US Patent “Low profile dorsal plate” describing devices, systems & methods for direct dorsal fixation of fractures of the distal radius including a low profile dorsal plate. 11,134,996

We are looking to strengthen our SmartTRAK Spine module with the addition of a qualified person with industry specific experience. All SmartTRAK analysts are former marketing, business development or R&D professionals with one of the major orthopedic/spine suppliers and, in fact, most have come to us via recommendations from our subscribers, as well as those in the industry. We believe that having a person of this caliber with relevant experience and deep insight on the market is a tremendous value-add we can offer SmartTRAK subscribers.

We are looking for person with Spine industry experience who is interested in working approximately 20 hours per week. We would also consider a person who would like to work full-time.Ideally, this person has:

• Deep knowledge of the spine market, especially spine hardware
• Strong communication skills, especially writing
• Good analytical skills and experience with forecasting
• Attention to Detail
• Extensive contacts in the industry with both companies and clinicians

This is a great position for an experienced person who wants to remain in the game but wishes to work part-time.

The US Spine market appears to be continuing on a skyward trajectory...but what’s really on the horizon for Spine?

With Q221 year-over-year growth up almost 46%, the US Spine market appears to be continuing on a skyward trajectory. However, as compared to Q219, Q221 saw growth of only +1.3%, reflecting ongoing COVID challenges. What’s really on the horizon for Spine? While the first half of 2021 has certainly looked much brighter than 2020, one big question remains: how big of an impact will the Delta variant surge have on the back half of the year?

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q221 Spine Market Recap* are:

Our Arthroscopic Technologies module launched earlier this year with a big splash.  We interviewed SmartTRAK's Sr. Analyst for Arthroscopic Technologies, Andy Knapik, to learn more about this new offering.

In the following video, Andy discusses what's included in the module and why we're so excited about this addition to the SmartTRAK platform. To request more information, please click here.

"It is my goal to provide detailed and unrivaled data that will allow SmartTRAK’s subscribing partners to better understand the Arthroscopic Technologies market; helping them make informed decisions on resource allocation and innovation that will ultimately lead to more effective and advanced patient care." Andy Knapik

We are pleased to announce that Gary Delhougne has joined the team at SmartTRAK as General Manager, Wound. Gary is a licensed attorney with 20 years’ medical device and consulting experience in market access, health economics and policy roles at Smith & Nephew, Covidien, Avalere Health and Ernst & Young.

Gary will be taking over for Susan Paquette, who is retiring at the end of the year. For the past 10 years, Susan has been the face of SmartTRAK Wound Care at industry meetings and has become a trusted advisor to many of our subscribers.

Gary will be representing SmartTRAK at SAWC Fall in Las Vegas, October 28-31. If you would like to meet with him to discuss the exciting new innovations ahead and learn how to network your entire organization with SmartTRAK, click the link below. To learn more about Gary, just keep reading!

Meet Gary Delhougne:

What is your role with SmartTRAK? As the General Manager of SmartTRAK’s Wound business, it is my role to lead the wound care team in delivering actionable business intelligence and decision-making tools to help our customers better serve patients and providers.

Soft Tissue Fixation Continues to Pick Up Steam in Q2 2021

With the world trying to move past the negative impacts of COVID-19, the Soft Tissue Fixation market continued to make significant advancements in the second quarter of 2021. The quarter saw a continued rise in case volumes for elective sports medicine procedures worldwide driven primarily through market recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q221 Soft Tissue Fixation Market Recap* are: