RSB Spine, LLC, was formed in 2001 as R&B Surgical Solutions by John A. Redmond and Robert S. Bray, JR, M.D. to develop and market spinal implant concepts from Dr. Bray and other innovative spine surgeons. The Company, headquartered in Cleveland, OH, initially developed a line of surgical instruments similar to Redmond’s previous company, Redmond Neurotechnologies Corp, which was acquired by Neurocare in 1997. Integra Life Sciences subsequently purchased Neurocare and sells the Redmond line through its Jarit division.
Dr. Bray is currently the Director of St. Johns Spine Institute in Santa Monica, Calif., was the Founding Director of The Institute for Spinal Disorders for Cedars Sinai, and the founder of a Multidisciplinary Outpatient Center, D.I.S.C. (Diagnostic and Interventional Spinal Care). He was a Major in the United States Air Force and served as the Chief of Neurosurgery at Travis Air Force Base. Bray has been awarded eight U.S. patents for spine implants and neurosurgical instruments, with several more applications pending, and has performed more than 7,500 spinal surgeries.
R&B’s strategy was to use the instrument line to generate revenue and build distribution while the novel implants were being developed. In 2003, R&B entered into discussions with Integra concerning acquisition of the instrument line, which was sold to Integra in January of 2004. As a condition of sale, the company changed its name to RSB Spine, LLC. Proceeds of the sale provided the requisite capital to launch the company’s first implant system, the SmartPlate™, the first anterior cervical plate designed to allow controlled subsidence. Resistance to subsidence increased as subsidence occurred, facilitating graft loading and preventing stress shielding. After launching the SmartPlate and building a revenue stream Nuvasive approached RSB with an interest in acquiring the product and associated intellectual property. RSB sold the SmartPlate to Nuvasive in June 2005.
In August 2006 RSB Spine received FDA approval for its newest product, the InterPlate™, as a vertebral body replacement. The InterPlate is a platform technology for performing fusions in the lumbar and cervical spine. The implants, made from both titanium and PEEK, offer surgeons a very unique and different option as compared with plates and interbody devices. In July 2007 FDA reclassified interbody fusion devices and as of September 18, 2007 the InterPlate became the first device cleared for interbody fusion under the new guidelines.
The current InterPlate, sold for use in the cervical and lumbar spine, is made of titanium and is used in conjunction with graft material for fusion of the two vertebral bodies.
RSB Spine’s products are exclusively distributed by Paradigm BioDevices in the United States.