Do companies sell spinal products or procedures? The first alternative means to make a huge effort
to differentiate your implants from many others with features, design, products…The second choice is to own the market segment so that your company is linked to the procedure.
The Interspinous Fusion fixation procedure started in 2008 when LANX launched the ASPEN MIS Fusion System, establishing itself as the leader in the new created product category. They were very succesful with more than 30,000 ASPEN devices implanted by over 1,000 surgeons.They did a very good job but they did not label the product category linked to them as Nuvasive did with the XLIF procedure.
All this time, it has been a market segment without a clear name or concept. When talking about interspinous implants one could include implants with many different indications such as Coflex, Diam, Aspen, X-Stop, Zip or Wallis. (See the complete list:List Interspinous Devices)
Now, Aurora Spine with a savvy marketing has finally labelled this Interspinous Fusion fixation procedure as The Screwless Procedure. This positioning strategy , and their very complete range of high quality products focused on this segment will surely give to them the worldwide leadership in this market.
Interspinous Fusion fixation systems are simple, less invasive and present fewer risks than pedicle or facet screws. However, while biomechanical studies indicate that interspinous fixation devices may be similar to pedicle screw-rod constructs in limiting the range of flexion-extension, they may be less effective than bilateral pedicle screw-rod fixation for limiting axial rotation and lateral bending.
This is clearly a heavy bet and a very strong commitment for Aurora Soine since the future of this procedure is still a question mark. The point is: Are the Interspinous Fusion Devices the future of the spine degenerative fixation? If the answer is yes, we will have Aurora Spine as a Winner and a very strong player.
What do you think?
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