KICVentures Collaborates With Mayo Clinic on a Next-Generation Facet Replacement Technology

KICVentures, a private investment holding company, has announced a collaboration with Mayo Clinic for an exclusive license to its facet replacement technology. KICVentures will develop and commercialize the facet replacement technology that is implanted posteriorly through an LES (less exposure surgery) incision, making the implantation of the device simple.
 
KICVentures President of Acquisition and Commercialization Jake Lubinski said, “This standalone facet replacement perfectly complements KICVentures’ existing AxioMed visoelastic Freedom Total Disc Replacement. Its design simplicity, the way it mimics natural human motion and its potential for total motion restoration make it a fitting technology for our portfolio.”
 
The lead inventor of the technology is Dr. Mohamad Bydon, a neurosurgeon who specializes in complex spinal surgery and associate professor of Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Health Services Research at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Bydon worked with Mayo Clinic’s Business Development and Engineering divisions to bring this concept to fruition.
 
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, an orthopedic spine surgeon and the Founder of KICVentures said, “Many big companies would shelve a product like this if they felt it would compete with their market. We’re different. We want to develop products like this because it is a perfect solution for patient care. It’s our mission to bring these kinds of products to market so patients have access to the technology they need. It’s a large time and capital commitment that we’re willing to make to continue to provide the best products in spine to patients that need them.”
 
Mayo Clinic and Dr. Bydon have a financial interest in the technology referenced in this news release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.

KICVentures is a private investment holding company founded by Harvard-trained orthopedic surgeon and professor Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, who brings experience at the intersection of medicine, business and information technology. KICVentures is equipped with a strong advantage in identifying niche healthcare opportunities and has a proven track-record of building the most disruptive spine technology portfolio, including AxioMed, NanoFUSE and SpineFrontier. It has headquarters in Boston, Mass.
 
AxioMed was founded to advance the standard of care for patients with degenerative spine conditions by progressing spine technology beyond fusion and first-generation artificial discs. Led by an experienced surgeon team and utilizing patented viscoelastic polymer technology, AxioMed has developed the next generation of artificial discs. AxioMed completed its U.S. investigational device exemption for the lumbar disc with over five years of clinical follow-up.