From the impact of stringent regulations to the shift toward new indications and rising market segments, SmartTRAK explores some of the trends to watch for in 2022 and beyond.

Orthopedic regenerative medicine therapy as an emerging area of science holds great promise for treating and promoting faster healing in a variety of injuries. There is also a belief among some scientists and industry stakeholders that it may hold the key to halting or reversing degenerative chronic conditions through self-healing. In a previous article, SmartTRAK had highlighted several challenges that Regenerative Medicine therapies would need to overcome to become a fully viable business and recognized treatment solution for patients. In 2021, businesses, societies and health care systems across the world continued to experience disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent waves of variants. Furthermore, much greater scrutiny and tougher regulations for some of the injectable regenerative medicine therapies were put into place. The start of 2022 is also not quite as “rosy” as most had hoped for ...

Jointechlabs – Emerging leader in point-of-care regenerative and rejuvenation medicine therapies

Nathan Katz PhD, ALBB, Co-founder, CEO and Chief Technical Officer at Jointechlabs* (JTL) discussed the Company’s unique technology platform and product developments in a recent interview with SmartTRAK.

JTL is a privately-held regenerative medicine solutions company based in North Barrington, IL. As an emerging leader in point-of-care regenerative and rejuvenation medicine therapies, JTL has patented, portable medicine products that enable personalized therapies. The Company’s lead product, MiniTC*, is an FDA-cleared portable medical device for isolation of fragmented and purified fat grafts (microfat) at the point-of-care. Additionally, JTL is developing therapies for unmet medical needs, with its first product candidate, JTL-T-01*, a proprietary injectable stem cell scaffold in clinical development as a biologic therapy for osteoarthritis, for approval under the FDA’s fast-track program.

SmartTRAK: Can you first tell us a little bit about yourself and then about Jointechlabs?

Nathan Katz: I have a medical background. I graduated from medical school back many years ago in Russia, then graduated from Tel Aviv University and acquired my Master’s Degree and PhD in Cell Biology. I came to the US 16 years ago, first, working on genetics and embryonic stem cells. I spent quite a lot of time in research with embryonic stem cells in the first decade of this millennia and then I was looking for the technology that could be translated into applicable medical technology and translated into therapy.

Adult stem cells came up as the first and obvious choice to look at more precisely, so we shifted, and I shifted personally, my focus from embryonic stem cells towards adult stem cells. I came across PadZuke, and Patricia, who published the first publication on actual adipose-derived stem cells in 2001. My idea was that it is the right way to go and could lead to ...

To read the entire interview with Dr. Katz, please click the button below to download the complete transcript.

SmartTRAK is the leading source of competitive intelligence used by the top ten global wound care & orthopedics companies. If you would like a demo of what SmartTRAK has to offer and how we can help increase proficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs for your company, just click here.

Renewed COVID-19 headwinds mute overall Q3 results, however, the soft tissue repair segment remains resilient

Impact of the Delta variant was felt broadly across OrthoBio, with virtually all publicly traded companies observing a reduction in surgical volume (relative to forecast) directly attributable to a resurgence of COVID-19. Overall, OrthoBio revenue declined, primarily driven by a sharp reduction in Bone Replacement revenue. Several companies noted the decrease in surgical volumes was most acute in August and September due to shortages in hospital staffing. Weakness was most closely tied to deferrable, elective, complex spine procedures.

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q321 OrthoBio Market Recap* are:

Q321 results were a letdown compared to the previous quarter as COVID-19 continues to burst HA players’ bubble but hopes for a return to normal prevail.

Spring 2021 brought on much relief to the US Joint Fluid Replacement market and the summer looked promising for a return to normal business conditions. However, as more cases of COVID-19 Delta variant were reported, especially in key hyaluronic acid (HA) states, like Texas and Florida, companies were left as though their bubble got burst. Some players expressed concerns that volumes could be depressed for Q421 since it does not seem to be picking up as fast as they projected. But, for Q321 and for the most part, the majority of HA market players did report positive revenue increases in the third quarter.

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q321 US Joint Fluid Replacement Market Recap* are:

Procedures using surgical matrices maintained their new normal, with broad strength in both hernia and breast matrices.

Procedures using surgical matrices maintained their new normal, though the resurgence of Delta variant across the northern tier of states may put a dent in the market following deferrals of procedures in various regions as the COVID-19 Delta variant caused more procedural headwinds.

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q321 US Surgical Matrices Market Recap* are:

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.

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.

Procedures using surgical matrices rebounded to normal levels again, with broad strength in both hernia and breast matrices.

Procedures using surgical matrices returned to approximately normal levels, though the Delta variant may make that recovery short-lived, as recently observed in Texas. The US Surgical Matrices market rebounded strongly in Q221 according to BioMedGPS’ SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard. AbbVie* continued to lead the US Surgical Matrices market, with Becton Dickinson* (BD) bouncing back nearly as strongly.

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q221 US Surgical Matrices Market Recap* are: