Titan Spine Opens German Subsidiary

Titan Spine LLC, a medical device surface technology company that develops spinal interbody fusion implants, is branching out. Destination: Europe—Germany, to be specific.

The company recently created Titan Spine Europe GmbH, a subsidiary that will support the company’s sales expansion efforts into Europe. The facility, located in Laichingen, Germany, is centrally located to serve as the base of operations for the German and European markets, according to a release from the company. Titan, which commercialized its proprietary spinal interbody implant technology in the United States in 2006, is now expanding into a European interbody market that is projected to soon reach $200 million in annual sales.

Titan Spine began conducting surgical cases in April 2011 with Axel Reinhardt, M.D., head of the Department of Spinal Surgery, Specialized Orthopedic Hospital in Potsdam, Germany.

“I am representative of a large percentage of spine surgeons in Europe that utilize titanium interbody implants due to the bone-forming response that they create,” said Reinhardt. “European spine surgeons typically do not use potential bone producing biologic materials, and therefore rely on the interbody device to play a role in the fusion process. I am pleased that Titan Spine is making its surface technology available in Europe, since it has been shown to increase the osteogenic response even further beyond smooth titanium and other materials. I began using the company’s Endoskeleton TLIF system ten months ago and am very pleased with the results thus far. I look forward to working with Titan Spine to help expand the use of their technology in Europe.”

Kevin Gemas, president of Titan Spine, said the timing is right for an “aggressive move” into Europe.

“The sales momentum we are seeing here in the United States has freed up substantial resources to support expansion into the European spinal market that embraces titanium interbody devices to an even greater extent than here domestically,” Gemas said. “And given the positive cellular response that our unique surface topography generates, we feel we are well positioned to meet the demands of European surgeons that expect more from their interbody devices.”

Based in Mequon, Wis., Titan Spine is a privately owned medical implant surface technology company focused on the design and manufacturing of proprietary interbody fusion devices for the spine.