Aaron C. Smith has been named Chief Executive Officer of Nashville, Tennessee, Artelon, says International Life Sciences, LLC. Smith, who has 23 years in the orthopedic industry, will lead this company that is known for synthetic biomaterial technology for orthopedic soft tissue reinforcement.
Aaron C. Smith: New CEO of Artelon
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“…As Co-Founder and General Manager of Amniox Medical, Smith and his team launched the first amniotic membrane and umbilical cord tissue product into the orthopedic reconstruction and wound care space, establishing the company as a leader in the $600 million regenerative tissue market,” says the Mary 8, 2017 news release. “During his previous tenure as Senior Director, Extremity Management Group with Wright Medical Technology Inc., Smith oversaw the transformation of the company’s legacy extremities portfolio from a niche product line into a market leader in the burgeoning Foot and Ankle Surgery market. Smith also served in leadership roles with Spinal Concepts (acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2003), Xomed Surgical Products (acquired by Medtronic in 1999), and Acromed (acquired by DePuy Orthopedics in 1997).”
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Aaron Smith to Artelon,” said Mark Cohen, Chairman of the Board, International Life Sciences. “His established track record of bringing innovative technologies to bear in emerging musculoskeletal markets is an excellent and timely fit for our organization. Under Aaron’s leadership, we look forward to fulfilling the promise of our Artelon technology.”
Smith commented to OTW, “I’ve been fortunate to learn from some very talented leaders, and see how good strategy and organizational management can drive exceptional results in early to mid-stage businesses. My last few job roles also gave me the opportunity to develop a playbook for creating new product markets from the ground up with novel orthopedic technologies.”
“I’m always most excited at the prospect of partnering with visionary clinicians and applying new technologies to solve clinical problems. I’ve spent the last 14 years working with clinicians to pioneer new products in foot and ankle surgery and regenerative medicine. Artelon has a very unique and versatile technology. In the changing landscape of orthopedic care, I’m not aware of anything else that bridges the gap between mechanical solutions and biological solutions like Artelon’s products.”
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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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