TranS1 ticks up after reimbursement win

October 20, 2011 By MassDevice staff Leave a Comment

TranS1 Inc. (NSDQ:TSON) confirmed that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey will cover its AxiaLIF spinal surgery procedure, according to a regulatory filing, sending its stock price up nearly 2 percent today.

Wilmington, N.C.-based TranS1 said the health insurance provider will cover AxiaLIF procedures deemed “medically necessary” using existing billing codes.

“Historically, there has been a lack of consistent reimbursement for the specific CPT code (used to describe specific services performed by physicians when submitting reimbursement claims) used to describe the AxiaLIF interbody fusion surgery, such that some physicians have found it difficult to obtain reimbursement for the procedure,” according to the filing. “The company has confirmed with Horizon that CPT codes 0195T and 0196T, which are the CPT codes associated with the company’s pre-sacral AxiaLIF procedure, will be deemed eligible for coverage when the medical necessity fusion criteria set forth in the policy are met.”

Sign up to get our free newsletters delivered straight to your inbox

That opens up TranS1’s interbody fusion procedure to a patient pool of about 3.6 million, the company said. Horizon is the second insurance carrier to initiate coverage of the AxiaLIF system.

The news sent TSON shares on a modest recovery from their plunge earlier this week. Shares lost 68.6 percent Oct. 18 after TranS1 disclosed a subpoena by the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services for documents in a probe of its marketing practices, falling from their $3.12 close Oct. 17 to finish the next day at $1.85.

TSON shares were trading at $1.90 as of about 2:40 p.m. today, up 1.6 percent.

Could this 3D bioink printer speed wound healing?
The University of Toronto is touting a new handheld 3D printer that can deposit sheets of skin to cover burn wounds and accelerate the healing process. A study, led by Richard Cheng under the supervision of Axel Guenther, published in Biofabrication revealed that the 3D printer completed successful in-vivo trials on full-thickness wounds, according to a report… […]
8 types of FDA-approved devices that treat the heart
Just starting to learn about all of the medical devices out there for treating cardiovascular diseases? The U.S. FDA has a good, basic roundup on its website of the most common types of cardiovascular devices it regulates. Here’s the list, along with the FDA’s descriptions: 1. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) “Portable and automatic, these devices… […]
Medtronic seeks to boost surgical robotics play with Digital Surgery acquisition
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced today that it has acquired Digital Surgery (London), a privately-held pioneer in surgical artificial intelligence, data and analytics, and digital education and training. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Medtronic said the purchase will strengthen its robot-assisted surgical platform and its broader portfolio. The medical device giant is making a big play… […]
Solvay expands advanced materials offerings in the medtech space
Solvay, a supplier of advanced materials and specialty chemicals, announced a pair of advances that it hopes will help it expand its healthcare business. Speaking yesterday at Solvay’s booth (#2414) at MD&M West, the company’s healthcare sales development manager Rose Catherin said the new materials will help improve the performance of specialty surgical devices including… […]
11 states ask EPA to crack down on ethylene oxide emissions
Eleven state attorneys general are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to impose stricter regulations over commercial operations that emit ethylene oxide (EtO), a widely used medical device sterilant gas. The EPA, which considers EtO a carcinogen, has been fielding comments on it in light of public outcry over emissions from medtech sterilization plants during… […]
Is it possible to ‘knit’ replacement blood vessels?
A new way to replace a patient’s damaged blood vessels may be on its way, as researchers in France are figuring out a way to “knit” new vessels with a collagen-based extracellular matrix. Inserm researcher Nicolas L’Heureux and his colleagues at Inserm/Université de Bordeaux’s tissue bioengineering unit published a study in Acta Biomaterialia to outline… […]
Applied Plastics has a new website, online store
Applied Plastics (Norwood, Mass.) — maker of PTFE-coated products for advanced catheter systems — announced today that it is rebranding to improve its customer interface and support continued growth. The rebranding includes a new website, online store and refreshed brand identity. The company this week is showing off the new look and its online PTFE… […]
How to select miniature motors for surgical robotics
Surgical robotics is leveraging the same sterilizable brushless direct current (BLDC) motors already used for decades in surgical hand tools. It’s all about torque, speed and reliability — as well as sterilization requirements. Keith Halbert, Portescap Today’s surgical robotics and robotically-assisted surgical devices often require BLDC motors to meet demanding requirements. While motors and motion… […]
What is an autoclave cycle?
Keith Halbert, Portescap The most common sterilization method used in hospitals is autoclaving, also called steam sterilization. During autoclaving, surgical handtools are exposed to 100% humidity, 135ºC (275ºF) and pressure variations for up to 18 minutes. Most autoclaves also have additional vacuum cycles to facilitate steam penetration and kill viruses, fungi, bacteria, and spores that… […]
BioIntelliSense wins FDA nod for BioSticker continuous vital sign monitor
BioIntelliSense announced that it won FDA 510(k) clearance for its BioSticker on-body sensor for scalable remote care and initiated the U.S. commercial launch of the product last week. The BioSticker is designed to allow for continuous monitoring of vital signs and actionable insights to provide opportunities for early detection of potentially avoidable complications from a home… […]
Accu-Tube acquires Mercury Tube
Stainless steel tubing outfit Accu-Tube announced today that it has acquired Mercury Tube, another metal tube manufacturer in its home base of Englewood, Colo. Mercury Tube, which makes high-precision stainless steel and high nickel alloy tubing, will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Accu-Tube. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Get the full… […]