Companion Spine Expands Portfolio With Backbone Acquisition

Companion Spine LLC, a French-American company focused on the interventional treatment of back pain, has acquired Backbone SAS, a company based in Bordeaux, France, that creates implantable devices for spinal disorders.

The acquisition expands Companion Spine’s product offering to include Backbone’s main medical device, the LISA^® implant. LISA stands for “Lumbar Implant for Stiffness Augmentation.” The LISA implant received its CE mark in 2018. Its safety and efficacy was demonstrated via a clinical study that Backbone conducted on 137 patients in Europe.

Companion Spine CEO and Co-Founder Erick Cloix explained, “The acquisition of Backbone and its leading technology, the LISA^® implant, is a further development and solidification of Companion Spine’s industrial effort. We are very pleased to be able to expand the continuum of solutions aligning the proper spine implant for the therapeutic goals of the patient.”

Cloix continued, “Our DIAM™ implant is oriented towards a lesser spine pain pathology, while the LISA^® implant provides a more solid support controlling both flexion and extension of the back. The complementary nature of these two products allows Companion Spine to offer a full range of therapeutic solutions, in response to the whole range of pathologies involving the spine, from lumbar stenosis to degenerative disc disease, and for each degree of severity.”

In addition to expanding Companion Spine’s portfolio, the acquisition also strengthens the company’s connection with the School of Spine Surgery of the University of Bordeaux, a school whose work contributed to the development of both the DIAM implant and the LISA implant.

Professor Vincent Pointillart, a spine surgeon at the Bordeaux University Hospital said, “The development of cutting-edge medical devices that will improve the treatment of back pain and spine diseases is one of the top priorities of the University of Bordeaux’s School of Surgery. The acquisition of Backbone by Companion Spine, intrinsically links innovations stemming from the University of Bordeaux’s academic research and work, continuing this historic focus.”