Precision Spine Refinancing to Go Shopping

Privately held Precision Spine, Inc. of Parsippany, New Jersey, is refinancing its debt and building a war chest to make acquisitions.

Jim Pastena, the company’s chairman and CEO announced on February 16, 2015 that the company has finalized “a major financial agreement” to give the company the financial tools to “grow aggressively” by “pursuing targeted acquisitions” to position the company strategically in key markets. No dollar amounts were provided in the announcement.

Readers may remember that Precision acquired physician-owned Spinal USA, LLC and Precision Medical of Mississippi, LLC, for $72 million in 2012. Spinal USA had been a target of an unfounded Wall Street Journal investigation accusing one of the physician owners of an unnecessary surgery. The Journal‘s evidence was based on the comments of the self-proclaimed spine ethics leader Charles Rosen, M.D. Rosen reviewed radiographic images, but never saw the patient he claimed was a bad candidate for the performed procedure. Nothing came of the allegation.

Pastena was president of Biomet’s EBI, and a corporate vice president of Biomet Inc. During his tenure with EBI he lead the company growth from $85 million in 1993, to $500 million with a +20% return at his departure.

Expanding Precision Spine

Precision Spine, according to the company, has five consecutive years of double-digit growth under its belt. “Our full year sales increased 26% in 2014 over 2013, and 4th quarter 2014 sales alone grew 45% over the same period in 2013. With this financial agreement in place, we will be able to grow even more aggressively, not only by continuing organic product developments, surgeon training activities and expansion of our distributor network, but also by pursuing targeted acquisitions that will help position our company strategically in key markets, ” said Pastena.

The company released several products, including the stand-alone Vault C Anterior Cervical Interbody Fusion Device, the Reform Deformity (Adolescent) System, the MD-Max ULIF (Universal Lumbar Interbody Fusion) System, the extended tab SureLOK MIS Pedicle Screw System, and the ShurFit Oblique Lordotic TPLIF, in 2014.

Recently, the company announced 510(k) FDA clearance for its Reli SP Spinous Plating System, which provides surgeons with the ability to accommodate several techniques for spinous process distraction and insertion of the plate. The company also recently received expanded FDA indications for its Reform Pedicle Screw System. The system, according to the company, has already been “well-received in the surgeon community and is one of the fastest growing products in the industry.”