Competition To Increase in the $740 Million Minimally Invasive Spinal Fusion Market

TORONTO, Dec. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, competition will intensify in the $740 million minimally invasive spinal fusion market with many players entering this fast-growing space.  

"In 2010, the US minimally invasive spinal fusion market was dominated by two leading competitors, NuVasive and Medtronic Spinal & Biologics," says Deanna Vankessel, Senior Analyst at MRG. "Medtronic lost its leading position in 2010 despite having a diverse product portfolio, large direct sales force, strong brand awareness, and training and education initiatives. NuVasive overtook Medtronic this past year because of its focus on innovative minimally invasive techniques, which enabled it to be one of the only major spine companies in the US to continue to post double-digit revenue growth in 2010. The company has built its reputation and success on its renowned XLIF, or eXtreme lateral interbody fusion procedure, which was the first lateral approach to spinal fusion."

NuVasive will see heightening competition, however, as a number of new companies enter the lateral lumbar interbody fusion space to capitalize on the growing popularity of this minimally invasive technique. In October of this year, DePuy Spine launched its lateral offering consisting of the COUGAR LS and PIPELINE LS; K2M also launched its RAVINE Lateral Access System in October 2010, and Globus Medical launched its TransContinental Spacer in early 2010. The addition of these notable competitors to the lateral segment will lead to greater surgeon education and training, thereby expanding awareness of lateral lumbar interbody fusion devices, spurring unit sales and revenue expansion through 2015. Nevertheless, the entire minimally invasive spinal fusion market continues to be plagued by increasing scrutiny for lumbar fusion approval by private payors and growing pricing pressures that are softening overall spine market growth. Additionally, patent infringement lawsuits, such as the one NuVasive has brought against Globus Medical for the latter's lateral offering, will impact sales in this segment by shifting focus away from the research, development, and sale of these products. These factors have culminated in a slightly more conservative minimally invasive spinal fusion outlook than previously anticipated.

MRG's US Markets for Minimally Invasive Spine Technologies 2011 report includes procedure, average selling price, and revenue information on the minimally invasive spinal fusion (thoracolumbar, cervical, and trans-sacral traditional fixation and interbody devices), facet fixation, intradiscal therapy, and discography markets.

About Millennium Research Group
Millennium Research Group (www.MRG.net), a Decision Resources, Inc. company (www.DecisionResourcesInc.com), is the global authority on medical technology market intelligence and the leading provider of strategic information to the healthcare sector. The company provides specialized industry expertise through multiclient market research, ongoing Marketrack™ projects, customer behavior tracking, facility-level procedure forecasting, and customized solutions.

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SOURCE Millennium Research Group