Safe Orthopaedics Acquires a Direct Sales Force in the United Kingdom

Safe Orthopaedics, a company that designs and markets single-use implants and instruments facilitating the minimally invasive treatment of spinal fracture conditions, has announced a deal to acquire the sales force of U.K.-based Qspine, which distributes spinal surgery equipment.
 
Since 2014, Qspine has distributed Safe Orthopaedics in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is Europe’s second largest market for spinal fusion surgery, worth an estimated 105 million euros, including 12 million euros for spinal fracture conditions alone.
 
“With the confidence resulting from our growing market share in France and initial positive signs in Germany, we are extending our direct distribution network in Europe by acquiring the sales force of our long-standing U.K. distributor. This sales force consists of four experienced sales people and has delivered solid adoption of our technology with limited resources. We will gradually increase commercial resources and marketing efforts in the U.K., and we intend to realise the full potential of our technology in the U.K. market with the medium-term aim of matching our current market share in France. These sales will contribute to the growth of the group as of the second semester of 2018,” said Pierre Dumouchel, CEO and co-founder of Safe Orthopaedics. “By selling our SteriSpine technologies directly to hospitals, we will improve our overall gross margin while also becoming more competitive and more flexible in terms of our selling prices. We are also very interested in promoting Qspine’s single-use illuminated retractor technology, which will be an excellent fit with our range.”
 
Qspine’s SURE retractor has recently obtained the CE mark and is now commercially available. The SURE system consists of a single-use, sterile radiolucent retractor, offering surgeons a genuine alternative—in both technical and economic terms—to traditional reusable products, while also offering a novel integrated illumination option. Safe Orthopaedics become the sole distributor of the SURE system in France, and will promote it in the United Kingdom.
 
“I believe this collaboration will benefit both companies. It will allow Safe Orthopaedics to quicken the pace in the U.K. market and gain quick access to accounts by using the unique SURE retractor. I look forward to working closely with Safe Orthopaedics to allow more surgeons to experience the many benefits that SteriSpine and SURE can deliver,” added Alan Lawson, CEO of Qspine.
 
Founded in 2010, Safe Orthopaedics is a French medical technology company that offers spinal fracture treatment technologies. These technologies enable minimally invasive approaches, reducing risks of cross contamination and infection in the interest of the patient. Protected by 17 patent families, the SteriSpine Kits are CE marked and cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company is based at Eragny-Sur-Oise (France), and has 37 employees.