Spine implant manufacturer Globus Medical reported an increase of almost 5 percent in its first quarter sales year over year in 2019. The company's robotic navigation device ExceclsiusGPS is expanding into hospitals in the U.S. and a new vice president and CFO will take over the reins in August.
Here are seven key developments from the company in the past year.
1. Globus Medical reported full-year sales increased 12.1 percent in 2018. Full-year sales hit $713 million in 2018, a 12.1 percent increase over 2017. Fourth quarter sales were up 11.3 percent to $195.9 million and net income for the year was $156.5 million, reaching nearly 22 percent of sales.
2. The company appointed Keith Pfeil as senior vice president and CFO, effective August 19. Mr. Pfeil arrives from publicly traded consumer products company CSS Industries, where he operated in several financial leadership roles. Previously he worked at Ernst and Young, KPMG and Arthur Andersen.
3. Globus Medical launched Aerial in late May, its minimally invasive interspinous fixation system with interlocking plates for spinal fusions. It is a posterior non-pedicle fixation device, intended for use at a single level in the non-cervical spine.
4. The company reported its U.S. spine business grew by more than 8 percent in May, adjusting for the negative impact of its biologics business, and the international spine business was up 25 percent in the first quarter of 2019. The company also reported enabling technologies had $7 million in revenue during the first quarter, which is typically a challenging quarter for the line.
5. Fortify VA was launched in April by the company, which is a variable angle corpectomy device. The new technology is part of Globus's Expandable Technology portfolio, which includes devices that support a minimally invasive approach. Fortify VA is designed for an anatomical fit during the anterior cervical or thoracolumbar approach to the spine.
6. Globus Medical highlighted positive results in a study calculating the versatility of its spinal robot navigation system compared to traditional pedicle screw placement techniques. Globus Medical's ExcelsiusGPS Robotic navigation system achieved a 99 percent screw placement success rate with no malpositions or postoperative returns to the OR related to screw placement.
7. In July, Dover, Del.-based Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus installed Globus Medical's ExcelciusGPS robotic guidance and navigation system for spine surgery. The device fuses a robotic arm and full navigation abilities into one system for precise alignment surgery.
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