Southlake Equity Leads Series B Round of Financing to Prime Titan Spine for Next Stage of Growth

Titan Spine, a medical device surface technology company focused on developing innovative surface-enhanced spinal interbody fusion implants, has closed a substantial round of Series B financing with its current investment partner, Southlake Equity Group. Titan will use the proceeds to drive the next stage of growth of the company through product line additions, sales team expansion, and accelerated research and development.   
 
Titan Spine and Southlake Equity Group first partnered in June 2016, when Titan closed its Series A round with Southlake Equity anchoring the investment. Since closing its Series A round, Titan has grown by nearly 65 percent in a North American spine market that grows in the low single digits annually. The company has added sales personnel, expanded its third-party distributor network, launched a new distribution center in Memphis, Tenn., attracted top talent from other spine and medical technology companies across all critical company functions, expanded its Board of Directors with independent medical device executives, and expanded access of its products into new markets. During the past two years, the company has also accelerated the transition from its line of Endoskeleton interbody devices that incorporate its original surface technology to those that feature its pioneering nanoLOCK surface technology. nanoLOCK is the only nanotechnology cleared by the FDA for orthopedic applications.
 
The Series B round of financing, which was supported by both Southlake Equity Group and legacy investors, exceeded capital-raising goals behind the enthusiasm of both management and Southlake Equity Group. The financing will allow the company to continue to drive sales growth that exceeds the overall North American spine market growth rate. 
 
Peter Ullrich, M.D., CEO and president of Titan Spine, commented: “Titan Spine’s core business is to help patients that are suffering from back pain enjoy healthier, productive and pain-free lives as quickly as possible following surgery. Our nanoLOCK proprietary surface technology was designed to do just that by fueling the patient’s own healing mechanisms at the nano-level. The Series B round of financing will enable Titan Spine to help more patients with more products more quickly. We appreciate the continued support of Southlake Equity Group and are truly excited with the level of management investment in the Series B round.”

Tom Keene, managing partner of Southlake Equity Group, added: “The management team of Titan is incredibly passionate about making patients’ lives better. It comes through loud and clear in every interaction with the great people of Titan at every level of the company.  We are pleased to lead the Series B round of financing and are very excited about working with the company as it continues to expand its ability to reach more patients. Titan Spine has grown at double digit rates for 12 years and has enormous potential in changing the landscape of surface technology-enhanced orthopedic products.”
 
Titan Spine offers a full line of Endoskeleton titanium implants that feature its proprietary nanoLOCK surface technology, which was launched in October 2016 following U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance in late 2014. The nanoLOCK surface technology consists of a unique combination of roughened topographies at the macro, micro, and nano levels (MMN). This combination of surface topographies is designed to create an optimal host-bone response and actively participate in the fusion process by promoting the upregulation of osteogenic and angiogenic factors necessary for bone growth, encouraging natural production of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), downregulating inflammatory factors, and creating the potential for a faster and more robust fusion.^1,2
 
Titan Spine Inc. is a surface technology company focused on the design and manufacture of interbody fusion devices for the spine. The company is committed to advancing the science of surface engineering to enhance the treatment of various pathologies of the spine that require fusion. Titan Spine, headquartered in Mequon, Wis., markets a full line of Endoskeleton interbody devices featuring its proprietary textured surface in the United States, Europe, and Australia through its sales force and a network of independent distributors.
 
Southlake Equity Group (SEG) is a private investment firm based in Southlake, Texas. SEG is a patient, long-term investor that focuses its capital and management resources on a select, small number of opportunities. It partners with management teams to develop and implement long-term growth and value creation strategies.

References    
1. Olivares-Navarrete, R., Hyzy, S.L., Slosar, P.J., Schneider, J.M., Schwartz, Z., and Boyan, B.D. (2015). Implant materials generate different peri-implant inflammatory factors: PEEK promotes fibrosis and micro-textured titanium promotes osteogenic factors.  Spine, Volume 40, Issue 6, 399–404.
2. Olivares-Navarrete, R., Hyzy S.L., Gittens, R.A., Berg, M.E., Schneider, J.M., Hotchkiss, K., Schwartz, Z., Boyan, B. D. Osteoblast lineage cells can discriminate microscale topographic features on titanium-aluminum-vanadium surfaces. Ann Biomed Eng. 2014 Dec; 42 (12): 2551-61.