Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Vertebron: Is it on Life Support

Word on the street is that Vertebron is on life support.  Its been a long time, whew!  Incubated around 2002 or 2003 by former employees of Surgical Dynamics and Howmedica, this company has gone through multiple and controversial management changes.  Can't we get along?  While attending NASS, rumor surfaced that Cardo Medical based in Los Angeles was attempting to raise capital to acquire Vertebron.  If there is any truth to this rumor, good luck raising capital in this economy. It would make sense considering Cardo Medical has Vertebron's Cervical Plate and Pedicle Screw on its website.  Has anyone heard otherwise?  The Spineblogger wants to know!

2 comments:

  1. I have spoken to a few suppliers that are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars by Vertebron. There are some very funny dealings going on over there. They were supposedly on a run rate of $1million in sales per month, but couldn't pay their bills? I hope someone looks into their books to find out where the money went. My guess is old managements pocket.

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  2. Dear OE:

    I suppose that when you are privately held you can tell the general public whatever you want without having to substantiate it. I would suspect that Vertebron has a commission structure that pays distributors 40-50% on sales. Since the COGS in our industry range between 8-14% depending on the product, I would suspect that the company must be making money. So why do we hear that they are on Life Support? Paul Sendro, President and CEO, sounds like Blackstone, smells like Blackstone, looks like Blackstone.

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