Zimmer to Acquire Developer of Trabecular Metal

In a transaction that will give the company exclusive ownership of the Hedrocel biomaterial it has been using in implants, Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (Warsaw, IN, USA) has agreed to acquire Implex Corp. (Allendale, NJ, USA). The net value of the transaction will be about U.S.$89 million.

In 2000, Zimmer entered into an exclusive worldwide alliance with Implex for the commercialization of Implex's Hedrocel biomaterial, which Zimmer implanted in hip, knee, and shoulder replacement implants and marketed as Trabecular Metal Technology. The company says it has seven new development projects under way. Trabecular Metal is made of a biocompatible element called tantalum and is very similar to natural bone in its porosity, friction, structural strength, and bending characteristics, making it a good choice for orthopedic implants.

"We call Trabecular Metal ‘the best thing next to bone' because we believe it is the most exciting new porous material platform the orthopedics industry has seen in decades,” said Ray Elliott, chairman, president, and CEO of Zimmer. "We believe Trabecular Metal has the potential to give us opportunities in the fusion and nonfusion spinal categories that other competitors cannot match.”




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