Spinal Tech

Smith & Nephew is set to add 100 employees to its Memphis, Tenn., operations in the first quarter, according to a report from The Commercial Appeal.

Zimmer Holdings recently acquired Sodem Diffusion S.A., the Geneva, Switzerland-based manufacturer of SoPlus Orthopaedic Surgical Power Tools, according to a Zimmer news release.

Audax Medical, a Littleton, Mass.-based orthobiologics company, has been awarded a research and development grant through the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project program to develop Arxis, a regenerative bone and cartilage material, according to a company news release.

Stryker has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Zimmer Holdings, claiming the company's Pulsavac Plus wound debridement system infringes three U.S. patents, according to a Bloomberg Business news report.

Here are five recent patent infringement lawsuits filed and settled between orthopedic and spine device companies.

Former Medtronic chairman and CEO Winston Wallin died yesterday, according to a company news release.

Zimmer recently finalized the acquisition of Beijing Montagne Medical Device Co., a Chinese device company, according to a Zimmer news release.

William A. Hawkins, CEO of Medtronic, will retire at the end of the current fiscal year, which ends on April 29, 2011, according to a company news release.

Lanx, a medical device company focusing on the development of spinal devices, has appointed Dan W. Gladney as CEO and member of the company's board of directors, according to a company news release.

The Food and Drug Administration issued 12 spine devices FDA 510(k) clearances in November, according to an FDA report.