Here are seven things for spinal surgeons to know for Feb. 12, 2015.
Medtronic pays $2.8M in false claims settlement
The newly-dubbed Medtronic PLC agreed to pay $2.8 million to the United States Justice Department to settle the false claims case alleging illegal payments to physicians. The justice department alleged Medtronic, among others, made "illegal payments" to physicians in exchange for recommending procedures that weren't safe or effective. Medtronic denied any wrongdoing in a statement.
Zimmer-Biomet acquisition still on edge
Zimmer proposed a revised remedy package to the European Commission after the EC expressed concerns with Zimmer's initial proposed acquisition of Biomet. The new proposal is relatively consistent with the previous one. However, the new package reflects a few modifications to address the EC's commends from a market test of the initial proposed remedy package.
NASS coverage policy for percutaneous SI joint open for review
The North American Spine Society has a new coverage recommendation for percutaneous sacroiliac joint fusion. The policy is currently open for public comment for the next 30 days. NASS will then review comments and make any necessary edits before publishing the final coverage recommendations.
Wright Medical Group intends to commence a $400M offering
It plans to commence an offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of cash convertible senior notes due 2020. The company estimates net proceeds from the offering will be around $389 million. That amount will grow to $447 million if initial purchasers decide to purchase additional notes.
K2M CFO Gregory Cole sells 40k shares
Mr. Cole sold 40,367 shares at $17.86 per share, average price. The total value of the transaction was $720,954.62. He now directly owns 308 shares of the company.
LDR shares jump 10.3%
LDR shares are up 10.3 percent over the week from Feb. 2 to Feb. 6. Shares are up 6.06 percent over the past four weeks and the counter has outperformed S&P 500 by 7.06 percent.
Study examines dural tear rate for cervical spine surgery
The study published in The Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques found that the rate of dural tears was 0.45 percent of patients, or 855 out of 190,021. The patients with dural tears stayed in the hospital for an average of six days, compared with 3.2 days for patients without dural tears.
More articles on spine:
Dr. Troy Morrison earns board certification
5 key points on indirect neural decompression through oblique lateral interbody fusion
Sierra Regional Spine Institute joins Nevada HIE