Zimmer, OrthoSensor Ink Marketing Deal

OrthoSensor and Zimmer Holdings have signed a collaborative marketing agreement pairing Zimmer’s NexGen brand of knee replacement systems with OrthoSensor’s Verasense technology in the U.S. and abroad.

Under the terms of the agreement, the products will be co-marketed to surgeons and hospitals, but sold separately.

Verasense — which received 510(k) clearance from the FDA in June — is already available with Stryker’s Triathlon and Biomet’s Vanguard knee systems. The agreement allows for matching it with other knee systems in the future. The technology, also CE-marked for distribution in the EU, gives surgeons real-time data to better rotate, balance and align knee implants during surgery.

“We’re making the Verasense technology available with the NexGen knee replacement so surgeons who want to use that during surgery to verify [the knee] alignment and balance can do so any time they use a Zimmer NexGen knee,” said Brandy Krier, associate director of marketing communications and brand management at OrthoSensor.

Krier said a next-generation version of Verasense may be coming down the line, as “there are always improvements in software.” OrthoSensor is looking into implantable products that can remain in the knee and report back to surgeons on the status of the knee replacement, she said. — Lena Freund

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