More than 2 months after Osiris Therapeutics struck an exclusive marketing deal with Stryker (NYSE:SYK) for its Bio4 bone putty, the agreement is starting to bear fruit.
Stryker this week launched the Bio4 bone allograft during the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting in Las Vegas.
Bio4 is a bone-matrix product designed as an alternative to bone autografts harvested from the patient’s own body, using endogenous bone forming cells and angiogenic growth factors to promote bone healing after foot and ankle surgeries. The companies struck a deal in January for Stryker to market and commercialize Bio4 worldwide, with Osiris responsible for manufacturing and ongoing product research.
"With the introduction of Bio4, Stryker now plays in the growing $199 million cellular allograft market," Stryker Spine president Spencer Stiles said in prepared remarks.
Tom Popeck, vice president & general manager for Stryker Foot & Ankle, added that Bio4 offers surgeons an alternative to autografts.
"Unlike many other alternatives to autograft, Bio4 possesses the 4 characteristics that are important for bone regeneration in a wide range of procedures. We are excited to enter into this new opportunity," Popeck said.
News of the deal came just a few weeks after the regenerative medicine company hired Stryker’s global medical director, Dr. Jon Hopper, to be its new chief medical officer.