Titan Spine Appoints Synaptive Medical CEO to its Board of Directors

Titan Spine Inc., a surface technology company focused on developing spinal interbody fusion implants, has appointed Peter Wehrly to its Board of Directors. Wehrly’s appointment, effective July 9, provides the company with extensive medtech market knowledge and experience as it continues to drive improved patient outcomes¹ through the deployment of its nanoLOCK surface technology.
 
nanoLOCK is the company’s next-generation surface technology featuring enhanced micro and nano-scaled architecture, proven to significantly improve the osteogenic response it creates.²
 
“Titan Spine has done a remarkable job forging the surface technology category in spine over the past several years and has the opportunity to continue its leadership position with the company’s nanoLOCK offering,” Wehrly said. “I see a clear opportunity for the company to further carve out a substantial share of the orthopedic market and look forward to contributing to Titan Spine’s growth and success.”
 
Wehrly is currently CEO of Synaptive Medical, a privately-held, Canadian company that combines proprietary surgical planning and robotic navigation platforms targeted initially for cranial and spinal applications. Prior to his appointment as CEO of Synaptive in October 2017, Wehrly was board chairman and an advisor to Synaptive from 2015 to 2017. From April 2016 to August 2017, Wehrly served as the CEO of PQ Bypass, a company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., focused on breakthrough technology for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease. Previously, he was the group president of Developed Markets at Covidien, a medical device manufacturer with annual sales of over $10.7 billion that was acquired by Medtronic plc in 2015. In this position, Wehrly held profit and loss responsibility for the marketing and sale of products to all developed markets outside the United States between 2013 and 2015. Preceding this role, Wehrly was group president of Respiratory and Monitoring Solutions, Vascular Therapies, and for all of Covidien’s Japanese, Australian-New Zealand, and Canadian businesses. Prior to Covidien, Wehrly was president and CEO at Medingo Youqneam, an Israel-based team that developed a novel insulin pump for diabetic patients. He also presided over Medtronic’s Spinal, Biologics, and Navigation businesses from 2004 to 2008. Wehrly started his career with DePuy, a Johnson & Johnson company.
 
Titan Spine CEO Peter Ullrich, M.D., stated, “We recognize the importance of adding exceptional talent, guidance and expertise to our board to help us continue driving Titan’s growth. Peter is a strategic leader who consistently delivers top-line growth and operational efficiencies across a wide range of global cultures. He has excelled in both public and private organizations, in both startups and multi-billion-dollar businesses, and in both developed and emerging markets. We are confident that Peter’s addition will advance our near and long-term goals for further building Titan Spine as the leader in surface technology medical devices.”
 
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 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.^2,3,4
 
Titan Spine Inc. is a surface technology company focused on the design and manufacture of spinal interbody fusion devices. 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.

References
1. Data on file.
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.
3. 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.
4. Matteson JL, Greenspan DC, Tighe TB, et al. Assessing the hierarchical structure of titanium implant surfaces. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B Applied Biomaterials 104(6). May 2015. DOI:10.1002/jbm.b.33462.