Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) expanded sales of its CD Horizon Solera spinal system to cover the entire United States and parts of Japan — the “global launch” the company promised analysts late last year.
Medtronic executives told analysts last November the Solera would be released globally at the end of its third quarter.
Medtronic spokesman Victor Rocha declined comment beyond the company’s press release.
The Minneapolis, Minn.-based company has high hopes for Solera, its spinal fusion device for people suffering from severe middle- and lower-back pain issues including degenerative disc disease. The device is part of Medtronic’s Restorative Therapies Group, which accounted for $3.55 billion in sales during the first six months of the fiscal year — about 45 percent of total revenue. That amount is basically the same as last year, but spinal sales in particular are down about 5 percent over that same period year to year.
Sales of the Solera system and its sister device Legacy were up 20 percent during a limited rollout in the U.S., company executives told analysts in November.
