Artimplant and ArthroCare Corporation sign distribution agreement for North America

The Swedish biomaterials company Artimplant, sign a distribution agreement for Artelon® Surgical Suture with ArthroCare Corporation.

The new non-exclusive distribution agreement for North America covers present sizes of Artelon® Surgical Suture and is the first of its kind for Artimplant. ArthroCare will make the sutures available through its distribution channels. For Artimplant, the revenues will come from sales of finished products to ArthroCare. Tord Lendau, CEO of Artimplant, said: “The unique properties of the Artelon® Surgical Suture make it suitable whenever long-term support to tissue is needed. Its long-term degradation, elasticity and superior knotability open up the use of Artelon® degradable sutures in situations where only permanent sutures could be used before. Also, as Artelon® sutures need fewer knots to secure the suture it save time for the doctor. This agreement will help Artimplant make the Artelon® Surgical Suture available on the orthopedic market. Due to the variety of applications in which the Artelon® Surgical Suture is suitable, we plan to market the product through non-exclusive distribution agreements with major medical technology companies.” Longer degradation time Artelon® Surgical Suture has a significantly longer degradation time compared to absorbable sutures currently on the market. In high demand clinical situations such as patients with slowly healing tissue or tissue exposed to high mechanical load, surgeons often use non-absorbable sutures, since the current absorbable sutures degrade too rapidly. These non-absorbable sutures frequently need to be removed at a second surgery. In situations like these, Artelon®’s unique long-term degradability offer new therapeutic advantages. Superior knotability Artelon® Surgical Suture has both superior knotability and knot security, meaning that they are easily tied and require fewer knots to obtain secure locking. Clinicians have particularly stressed the importance of these features in arthroscopic suturing. Also, due to the elasticity of Artelon®, they behave similarly to their host tissue and thereby reduce the risk of tearing. Unique biomaterial Artelon® is a unique long-term degradable biomaterial that acts as a temporary scaffold to facilitate formation of new host tissue. Due to its versatility and unique combination of properties - long-term degradation, mechanical properties similar to human tendons and excellent biocompatibility in hard and soft tissue – Artelon® offers new solutions to unmet clinical needs in several therapy areas. Artelon® Surgical Suture available in USP sizes 2-0, 0, 1 and 2, with and without needle, is cleared for marketing in Europe and USA. For additional information, please contact: Tord Lendau, CEO, phone +46 (0)31 746 56 00, +46 (0)708 369 403, tord.lendau@artimplant.se Web site: www.artimplant.com Artimplant has also posted the following press releases the last four months on www.artimplant.com Artelon® nanofibers successfully used as coating on metal implants Artimplant signs four new development and license agreements with Small Bone Innovations Artimplant receives CE-mark for Artelon® Surgical Suture Artimplant expands its long-term degradable Artelon® Surgical Suture product range New study shows that Artelon® works as a dermal filler Artimplant expand the field of application for Artelon® Artimplant employs Ms. Susanne Hamilton as Product Manager Odontology Artimplant appoints Lars-Johan Cederbrant as Chief financial Officer Electrospinning of Artelon® in collaboration with IFP Research and Chalmers University of Technology expand the opportunities for Artimplant Artimplant boosts its commercial base through CE-mark for two new products within odontology and craniomaxillofacial surgery