Active Implants Enters Agreement With UK Company
MEMPHIS, Tenn.-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Active Implants Corporation (AIC) today announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Joint Replacement Instrumentation, Ltd (JRI) to expand distribution of their advanced polymer TriboFit® Hip System in the United Kingdom. JRI, a well established specialist in the development and commercialization of orthopaedic joint implants and instrumentation, will market its flagship product, the Furlong® H-A.C. hip stem, alongside AIC's TriboFit® acetabular system, the only soft bearing articulation product available today. TriboFit® employs a low wear, medical grade, polycarbonate-urethane Buffer™. AIC and JRI are launching a post approval collaborative market study in the UK with leading orthopaedic surgeons. Under this new arrangement, AIC has agreed to manufacture certain components of the TriboFit® Hip System at the JRI state of the art facilities in Sheffield, England.
"We are very pleased and excited to be able to bring to the UK orthopaedic community a truly leading edge hip replacement option with our well established and successful Furlong® hip system," said Brian Jones, Managing Director of JRI. "We believe the TriboFit® soft bearing acetabular Buffer™ solves some known problems with rigid bearing material articulation surfaces and it may introduce important new benefits and favorably impact the longevity of a total hip replacement. This is even more important as a growing younger patient population faces the need for orthopaedic surgery."
Stephen Bradshaw, President and CEO of AIC, said the JRI agreement is another strategic step forward for AIC as it brings to market a new generation orthopaedic implant solutions. "We recognize there is a tremendous opportunity to solve known problems and to introduce new benefits to an active orthopaedic patient having greater expectations. As we expand our operations worldwide, we are privileged to join JRI in the UK where modern total hip arthroplasty has its roots and continues to have great influence on the global orthopaedic community."
The TriboFit® Hip System received a CE Mark and was commercialized in selected EU markets earlier this year. TriboFit® is a new generation implant system from AIC for the treatment of advanced degenerative conditions of the hip joint. AIC is introducing a new, low wear polycarbonate-urethane material that has a modulus of elasticity similar to human cartilage, is biocompatible and is as durable as titanium. The AIC material is hydrophilic, promoting the lubrication of articulating surfaces of the implant system and maintaining radial clearance between the femoral head and the acetabular cup similar to the natural hip. Current bearing materials, like polyethylene, are at least seventy times more rigid than cartilage and they are hydrophobic, repel fluid. Professor Antonio Moroni of the Rizzoli Institute, Bologna Italy stated further, "The TriboFit® Hip System offers a less invasive acetabular component that is bone conserving and allows the use of anatomical femoral head sizes to optimize joint stability and range of motion."
JRI is headquartered in the heart of London with production facilities in Sheffield, England, and manufactures the clinically acclaimed Furlong® H-A.C. Total Hip Replacement System. Their proprietary H-A.C. coating has been proven over 20 years to offer unsurpassed physiological solutions for the hip. JRI successfully produces and distributes a broad range of orthopaedic implants and instruments with 40% of their business outside of the UK.
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