LAS VEGAS — Three years ago, Smith & Nephew (S&N; London) spun off its biologics unit in partnership with Woodlands Essex to form Bioventus (Durham, North Carolina). Fast forward to today, and Bioventus is maintaining a global presence in the biologics market, with about 500 employees strong, and nearly $240 million dollars in yearly revenue.

During the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS; Rosemont, Illinois ) annual meeting, the firm spoke with Medical Device Daily about it's products, the space it's operating in; and what sets it apart from competitors.

"BioVentus is very different from other companies," Allison London Brown, VP, Global Marketing, Bioventus, told Medical Device Daily. "We live in that really interesting world between systemic devices and hardware. We don't play in those markets and we have no intention of playing in those markets. Our focus is on products that are either biological in nature - true biologics, or are actually activating the healing process using the body's own natural healing capabilities."

The company touted its surgical line of products, which includes OsteoAMP, allogeneic bone with endogenous growth factors, which uses a proprietary process designed to retain the bone's natural growth factor complement. OsteoAMP may be used for spinal fusion and orthopedic trauma applications and comes in three distinctive formats: granules, compressible sponges, and putty.

"We have BioVentus Surgical, which acquired OsteoAMP, and that's our first spinal product," London Brown said. "Bioventus acquired the OsteoAMP product line, intellectual property and commercial business from Advanced Biologics (Carlsbad, California), late last year.

"Then we have the Bioventus active therapies group and these products have been on the market for quite some time now," she said.

Bioventus Active Healing Therapies consists of products that allow patients to resume active lives using their bodies own processes to heal faster or reduce pain. Products include the Exogen Ultrasound Bone Healing System – indicated for the treatment of established non-unions and indicated fresh fractures; Supartz – a joint fluid hyaluronic acid for treatment of pain in the knee due to osteoarthritis (OA) and Duralane – a single-injection joint-fluid based upon a natural, safe and proven technology called Nasha (stabilized hyaluronic acid) and indicated for the treatment of mild to moderate OA pain in a variety of joints. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring molecule that provides the lubrication and cushioning in a normal joint.

"We recently had two publications on Exogen, which were the economics of the use of a surgical intervention as well as the use of Exogen in an elderly population," she told MDD.

The company launched a new version of the device last year, and it is continuing the launch globally.

"The biggest difference with that product is that Exogen is a low intense pulse ultrasound," London Brown said. "Patients use it 20 minutes a day and it has a calendar feature that also reminds them when to use the device; and then shows that they have used the device. So if physicians are interested in making sure they have quality metrics, they're able to report quality outcomes because they have the compliance that they need."

Quality metrics – a theme that has been echoed all throughout the conference is not only a key point for orthopedic surgeons, but it's also a major point for device makers, who are going to have to develop devices that have higher treatment value rather than treatment volume.

London Brown said that presents a key opportunity for companies.

"I think for Exogen specifically, it really is important for the patient to use the product every single day for 20 minutes," she said. "If not you will not get the same type of outcomes in terms of acceleration of healing, which is really what you're trying to go for. And you won't get the same types of outcomes if you're not consistent with the use of the product."

She added, "When compliance is discussed it's a very common conversation, but not so much in the medical device world. But I think you're going to see a shift in that as well. Especially as there are more and more medical devices being used at home, and the overlay between technology and medical devices is growing. So for us the impact of compliance and quality is that it is certainly beneficial to our patients to help them make the best decisions and to make good healthcare decisions to improve their outcomes.

London Brown noted that the calendar features and apps that Exogen uses are all part of that "journey."

But there are key differences in measuring quality metrics for a device like Exogen and other devices on the market, the company pointed out.

"I think for implants it's a little bit different because it is one and done, vs. Exogen, which is a product that one has to take home and use," she said.

To date there has been an up-tick in the adoption of Exogen and patient satisfaction with the use of the device.

BioVentus can't be labeled as just a device maker, or a company that delves into pharma products. The result is somewhere in between. In 2013, the company signed an exclusive, worldwide license to Pfizer's (New York) bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) portfolio of development programs and associated intellectual property and in doing so cemented its foundation in ortho-biologics

"With the BMP acquisition in 2013, it really solidified that for us we were playing in the true biologics space," she said. "We're not wedded to a pharma; a device; or biologic pathway; we're really around the ortho-biologics space."