CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 23, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATEC), the parent company of Alphatec Spine, Inc., announced today that the Company has signed a new supply agreement that provides the Company with exclusive worldwide rights to market, sell and distribute an anchored, zero-profile anterior cervical interbody device.
The device's 510(K) application is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for market clearance. Pursuant to the agreement, Alphatec Spine will pay an upfront fee over the next 12 months and has agreed to certain minimum purchase commitments. The market for cervical interbody devices is estimated to be $465 million. The anchored interbody device market is the fastest growing segment of the cervical interbody market and is estimated to currently be approximately $47 million.
"I am pleased to announce this new supply agreement. While we compete in the cervical interbody market with certain of our Novel PEEK spacers and structural allograft products, the addition of an anchored, zero-profile cervical interbody device will add depth to our cervical portfolio with surgeons who have adopted this technology," said Les Cross, Chairman and CEO of Alphatec Spine.
"When I became CEO of Alphatec Spine earlier this year, I laid out a clear strategy to strengthen the sales and profitability of the organization. We have focused on streamlining our internal operations to strengthen margins and shorten the cycle time for developing and commercializing new products. I also recognized Alphatec's need to simultaneously scale our business through acquisitions of companies and new products to further accelerate top-line growth. While it has been my ongoing expectation that it will take time to yield meaningful and positive impacts to our revenue growth, we are building a new and stronger foundation that should strengthen future revenue growth and lower our cost structure through decreased manufacturing and operating costs to enhance our margins."
About Alphatec Spine
Alphatec Spine, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATEC). Alphatec Spine is a medical device company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets products for the surgical treatment of spine disorders, primarily focused on the aging spine. The Company's mission is to combine world-class customer service with innovative, surgeon-driven products that will help improve the aging patient's quality of life. The Company is poised to achieve its goal through new solutions for patients with osteoporosis, stenosis and other aging spine deformities, improved minimally invasive products and techniques and integrated biologics solutions. In addition to its U.S. operations, the Company also markets its products in over 50 international markets through its affiliate, Scient'x S.A.S., via a direct sales force in France, Italy and the United Kingdom and via independent distributors in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In Latin America, the Company conducts its business through its subsidiary, Cibramed Produtos Medicos. In Japan, the Company markets its products through its subsidiary, Alphatec Pacific, Inc. In the rest of Asia and Australia, the Company sells its and Scient'x's products through its and Scient'x's distributors.
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Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainty. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Alphatec Spine cautions investors that there can be no assurance that actual results or business conditions will not differ materially from those projected or suggested in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Forward looking statements include references to the Company's strategy to increase revenues and decrease costs; the ability of the new anchored interbody device to receive FDA market clearance; and references to the sizes of the interbody and anchored interbody markets. The words "believe," "will," "should," "expect," "intend," "estimate" and "anticipate," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. The important factors that could cause actual operating results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to; the uncertainty of success in licensing or developing and commercializing new products or products currently in Alphatec Spine's pipeline; failure to achieve acceptance of Alphatec Spine's products by the surgeon community, including the new anchored interbody device; failure to successfully implement streamlining activities to create anticipated operational savings; failure to successfully begin in-house manufacturing of certain products; failure to obtain FDA clearance or approval for new products, including the new anchored interbody device, or unexpected or prolonged delays in the process; Alphatec Spine's ability to develop and expand its U.S. and/or global revenues; continuation of favorable third party payor reimbursement for procedures performed using Alphatec Spine's products; unanticipated expenses or liabilities or other adverse events affecting cash flow or Alphatec Spine's ability to successfully control its costs or achieve profitability; uncertainty of additional funding; Alphatec Spine's ability to compete with other competing products and with emerging new technologies; product liability exposure; failure to meet all financial obligations in the Cross Medical Settlement or its credit agreement; patent infringement claims and claims related to Alphatec Spine's intellectual property or products sold by Alphatec Spine. Please refer to the risks detailed from time to time in Alphatec Spine's SEC reports, including its Annual Report Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed on March 5, 2012 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other filings on Form 10-Q and periodic filings on Form 8-K. Alphatec Spine disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, unless required by law.