Amedica Corporation is teaming up with the world’s big dog of advanced ceramics. On November 26, 2013, the company announced a deal with Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation whereby Kyocera will use Amedica’s Silicon Nitride biomaterial to manufacture medical devices in Vancouver, Washington.
Amedica Partners With #1 Ceramics Supplier
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Eric Olson, Amedica’s president and CEO, said there is an unmet need for advanced biomaterials in orthopedics and spine. “We are seeing an increasing interest for our Silicon Nitride interbody devices and increased interest in this material for use in other applications and want to ensure a consistent supply for surgeons and more importantly, patients.”
According to the most recent survey in Ceramic Industry, Kyoto, Japan-based Kyocera is the world’s number one producer of advanced ceramics. Olson added that with Kyocera’s vast experience in ensuring that market demand is consistently fulfilled for innovative products it is the ideal partner to help broaden availability of Amedica’s biomaterial devices.
The deal includes the manufacture of Amedica’s spinal interbody devices.
A company press release stated that Silicon Nitride has been shown to help promote bone growth and has anti-infective properties. “Devices made from Silicon Nitride are semi-radiolucent with clearly visible boundaries enabling an exact view of intraoperative placement and postoperative fusion assessment via common imaging modalities. Amedica believes that these are essential characteristics that surgeons seek when choosing the ideal spinal interbody implant for their patients. Amedica has sold over 14, 000 of these devices worldwide.”
Amedica is also developing products for use in total hip and knee joint replacements.
Kyocera was founded in 1959 as a producer of advance ceramics. The company supplies medical products, solar power generating systems, telecommunications equipment, printers, copiers, electronic components, semiconductor packages and cutting tools. Last year Kyocera reported approximately $13.6 billion in revenue.
The deal with Kyocera comes just a couple of weeks after Amedica announced the company had filed papers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $35 million in an initial public offering (IPO).
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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