SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nexus Spine, a developer of biomechanically-advanced solutions for spinal pathologies, today announced key appointments to its leadership team that includes David Ivanko as Vice President of Quality Engineering and Manufacturing and Andrew Shepherd as Vice President of Marketing. The additions are part of a recently initiated strategy to move the company from a proof-of-concept phase to rapid commercialization of its novel compliant mechanism-based systems, consisting of PressON™ fixation, Tranquil™ interbody fusion, and upcoming technologies currently in development.
Mr. Ivanko brings more than 25 years of Quality and Manufacturing Engineering experience in the medical device industry to the organization. Prior to Nexus, he most notably served as Vice President of Quality Engineering for NuVasive, Inc. where he was responsible for all aspects of product quality from development to production to distribution.
Mr. Shepherd is also a highly accomplished veteran of the spinal implant industry that includes a lengthy career with Titan Spine where he served as Vice President of Marketing and was instrumental in establishing the surface technology segment in spine.
“I have long admired the quality of NuVasive products and instrumentation as well as the unique marketing approach of Titan Spine,” commented David Hawkes, President of Nexus Spine. “So, it made sense to me to pursue the two individuals responsible for those functions and combine their expertise with the technological capabilities and product portfolio of Nexus. I am very pleased to welcome Dave and Andrew to our leadership team as we begin to execute our comprehensive strategy to accelerate sales of our groundbreaking compliant mechanism-based systems.”
About Compliant Mechanisms
Compliant mechanisms mimic nature by providing motion and force transmission through flexibility rather than from traditional rigid-body joints. This breakthrough enables bio-friendly synthetic materials such as titanium to perform more like surgically treated tissues at the macro and microscopic levels. This approach utilizes modern mathematical modeling, 3D finite elemental analysis, and 3D printing to drastically improve the way that spinal implants perform. Nexus compliant mechanism-based devices have been implanted in patients since 2015 and have been found to result in faster healing with less pain.
About PressON™ Spinal Fixation System
PressON™ is a unique pedicle screw-based spinal fixation system that features rods that are snapped on to screw heads instead of tightened using traditional set screws, which are prone to loosening and subsequent construct instability.1 PressON™ employs compliant mechanism technology to match the patient’s specific anatomical needs, eliminating spinal rod-bending and other painful persuasion techniques currently used in spinal surgeries. Additionally, PressON™ is substantially faster and easier to implant and is roughly one quarter the volume of competitive devices, thus decreasing soft tissue irritation, decreasing incision length, and further reducing postoperative pain and recovery time.2
About Tranquil™ Interbody Fusion Technology
Tranquil™ is a flexible interbody fusion device made of bio-friendly titanium that is shaped and engineered using compliant mechanism principals to behave like spinal trabecular bone by mimicking its stiffness, resulting in a device that is 1/10th the stiffness of traditional competitive interbody fusion implants. Tranquil™ is available in cervical, ALIF, PLIF, TLIF, and steerable TLIF configurations.
About Nexus Spine
Nexus Spine develops industry-leading spinal implants by leveraging our novel compliant mechanism engineering expertise. Our innovative and evidence-based approach continues to advance the standard of surgical technologies through a rigorous focus on improving clinical outcomes while being easier to implant. Our proprietary spinal fusion systems minimize implant bulk, surgery time, and hospital handling and provide surgeons maximum versatility to accommodate varying patient needs. We are wholly owned by Crocker Ventures, an independent, privately-held life science, healthcare and technology investment firm. For more information on Nexus Spine, Tranquil™ and PressON™, please visit: www.nexusspine.com.
1 Serhan, H., Hammerberg, K., O’Neil, M., Sturm, P., Mardjetko, S., & Crawford, A. (2010). Intraoperative Techniques to Reduce the Potential of Set-screw Loosening in Long Spinal Constructs. Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques, 23(7), e31–e36. https://doi.org/10.1097/BSD.0b013e3181c982a1
2 Tian, F., Tu, L.-Y., Gu, W.-F., Zhang, E.-F., Wang, Z.-B., Chu, G., Ka, H., & Zhao, J. (2018). Percutaneous versus open pedicle screw instrumentation in treatment of thoracic and lumbar spine fractures. Medicine, 97(41), e12535. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000012535
