Titan Spine Raises Capital for Interbody Fusion Devices

Titan Spine, a medical device surface technology company focused on developing innovative surface-enhanced spinal interbody fusion implants, has announced that it has closed a substantial round of financing with investor Southlake Equity Group. Titan will use the proceeds to further expand U.S. sales growth and surgeon adoption of its Endoskeleton line of titanium interbody fusion implants and support the launch of its next generation nanoLOCK surface technology.
 
The raise closes two days following the announcement that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has created a new code for nanotextured surface on an interbody fusion device, for which Titan Spine’s nanoLOCK is the only product approved for its use.
 
Peter Ullrich, M.D., chief executive officer of Titan Spine, commented, “We are thrilled to bring on board an investor that is equally as confident in the milestones we have achieved to date along with the near and long-term strategies and goals we have planned for the remainder of 2016 and beyond. Proceeds from this financing round will be dedicated to expanding our sales force in the U.S. and to further provide the resources to grow the adoption of our products across the country and abroad. We have historically grown organically but feel the time is right to aggressively capitalize the company to take advantage of the accelerating shift within the marketplace toward surface enhanced titanium interbody fusion devices.”
 
Tom Keene, managing director at Southlake Equity Group, added, “Titan Spine’s innovative line of spinal devices is substantially differentiated from other implants on the market, which will be amplified by the launch of nanoLOCK. For this reason, we are excited to partner with Titan and its world-class management team to provide patient, long-term capital to enable the company to continue to implement its growth strategy.”
 
Titan Spine offers a full line of Endoskeleton devices that feature Titan Spine’s proprietary implant surface technology, consisting of a unique combination of roughened topographies at the macro, micro, and nano levels (MMN). This unique 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.^1-4 The company will soon be launching its next-generation nanoLOCK surface technology, which has been shown to create superior osteogenic and angiogenic environments when compared to PEEK and the company’s current surface technology.⁴ All Endoskeleton devices are covered by the company’s risk share warranty.
 
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., Gittens, R.A., Schneider, J.M., Hyzy, S.L., Haithcock, D.A., Ullrich, P.F., Schwartz, Z., Boyan, B.D. (2012). Osteoblasts exhibit a more differentiated phenotype and increased bone morphogenetic production on titanium alloy substrates than poly-ether-ether-ketone. The Spine Journal, 12, 265-272.
³ Olivares-Navarrete, R., Hyzy, S.L., Gittens, R.A., Schneider, J.M., Haithcock, D.A., Ullrich, P.F., Slosar, P. J., Schwartz, Z., Boyan, B.D. (2013). Rough titanium alloys regulate osteoblast production of angiogenic factors. The Spine Journal, 13, 1563-1570.
⁴ 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.