The London-based orthopedic giant plans to premiere its newly acquired CartiHeal Agili-C cartilage repair implant. Bioventus had a deal in place to acquire CartiHeal and its technology last summer. However, when that fell through, Smith+Nephew executed a $180 million buyout (with a potential $150 million to add on) in November 2023.
Smith+Nephew also plans to unveil the Regeneten bioinductive implant alongside the CartiHeal technology. All this is taking place at the AAOS Annual Meeting in San Francisco this week. The company says its technologies could transform soft tissue repair treatments compared to the current standard of care.
CartiHeal’s Agili-C implant is an accessible treatment for osteochondral lesions, and it doesn’t require donor tissue. It treats a broad patient population, including traumatic, osteoarthritic cases in addition to those receiving standard cartilage repair. The system, commercially available in the U.S., received FDA premarket approval in 2022.
Regeneten provides a patient-centric treatment supporting the body’s natural healing process. The collagen-based implant could change the course of tear progression, aid return to normal activity and reduce re-tears compared to conventional surgery. The system previously demonstrated success in rotator cuff tears, and the company reports similar potential for Achilles repair.
“As a leader in sports medicine, we are committed to bringing emerging technologies that address unmet clinical needs to our customers and their patients,” said Scott Schaffner, president of Sports Medicine, Smith+Nephew. “Both Regeneten and CartiHeal Agili-C implants have the opportunity to set new benchmarks for standard of care across multiple joint repair indications and deliver better patient outcomes.”