Staying innovative is a constant struggle in the spine and orthopedic industries. Companies must also strategize on different future partnerships.
In an interview with Becker's Spine Review, Solvay's Global Marketing Manager Dane Waund explained how the company forms relationships with other manufactures and elaborated on the development of all-polymer devices.
Question: What inspired Solvay to develop an all-polymer total knee replacement system?
Dane Waund: We have been traditionally using the material Zeniva PEEK. We've supported this material for spine and extremities, but it hasn't been introduced in a total knee replacement system. Each year at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and North American Spine Society annual meetings, Solvay tries to partner with smaller companies who are making innovative strides in their fields. We hope through these partnerships, we as a larger company are able to offer other companies insight, resources and visibility within the industry.
This year we chose to partner with Okani, an innovative Asian orthopedic specialist company, with whom we have worked successfully in the past. Okani's Chief Technology Officer, who trained at Harvard Medical School, was inspired to design an all PEEK knee system. These systems can be very expensive and time consuming to develop; however, Solvay understood the benefits of the PEEK material, and Okani provided the vision for an all polymer knee. Therefore, it was an easy decision to work with Okani on its latest project. As we move forward, Okani is conducting more extensive clinical trials and research to gather insights and evidence on the clinical use of their PEEK knee replacement system while also gathering input from patients.
Q: What are the benefits to using polymers over traditional metal materials?
DW: Okani presented five posters and two papers at this year's Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) meeting. One highlighted industry standard testing showing PEEK performance as superior over traditional metal materials in terms of wear performance. Wear is the main factor driving the need for traditional knee products to eventually be replaced or revised. Okani are confident that the service life of a PEEK based all polymer knee will survive past the 15 to 20-year average life span of traditional existing implants. Second, metal is a lot more rigid and stiff than the bone itself. Okani's data supports that this difference causes loosening, which is the main reason a joint is replaced prematurely in its service life. PEEK's inherent properties are similar to those of the bone allowing for more stability. Third, there are a number of complex steps required to produce a cobalt chrome or titanium knee implant, which makes them costly. Okani and Solvay are validating a mass production model, enabled by Zeniva PEEK, and its feasibility. In the Chinese market, reducing implant cost would enable care to be delivered to patients in areas currently underserved. Finally, mass produced, polymer-based implants have the potential to reduce the number of infections caused during replacement procedures.
Q: What can customers expect from Solvay in 2018?
DW: Currently we are seeing a trend toward orthopedic and spine procedures being performed in ambulatory surgery centers. One of our current collaborations involves instrument sets used in cervical spine procedures for ASCs. We are expecting physicians to begin adopting these cervical spine kits within the upcoming year. The idea is to provide the center with sterile instrumentation for single use. This not only reduces sterilization costs, but also does not take up the amount of space and not add the complexity sterilization equipment requires. For the patient, there is always the risk for infection, and under current regulations the cost to treat these infections is borne by the care provider. By using a pre-sterilized single use instrument that can easily be safely discarded, the ASCs are making a choice which potentially benefits both the patient and the center.