TSB is back!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come here, just a little bit closer to the camera on your MacBook Air.............just a little bit closer...........come on, I can see you...........I know, I know...........you missed the banter.......you missed the analysis.......but most of all you missed TSB. Don't believe it? I'll send you a copies of the emails. So where has TSB been?
After a much needed break from the show, it almost feels like the first day of school!!!! (Just Kidding) It's almost surge like. TSB has just completed his first movie on Spine in the Middle East. The story revolves around an American executive (ahem) who goes to work for a Middle Eastern despot and is tortured by his lies and deceitfulness, only to find out that freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose, nothing don't mean nothing honey, if it ain't free, and feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues. Yes, fellow bloggers, TSB has been away so what's new in Spine?
- Nothing?
- POD's still Exist?
- Is Closet spine still in business?
- The DOJ investigating the Distributor's Role as intermediary in buying surgeons business?
- Neurosurgeons being sued for misuse of product? No way!
- Blackstone resurfaced?
- Shareholders suing Nuvasive?
- Is the Choice still yours?
- Are the V Brothers still in spine?
- Carragee must resign? That was funny.
- OTW winning the MORE is less award for journalistic excellence?
- Is Orthoworld still in business?
Over the next few weeks TSB will be launching a new website, which will cover much more than spine with a new cast of characters. So stay tuned, stay in touch, and let us know what you know. The fun is about to begin. Many thanks go out to those loyal readers and followers, and thanks for the paid vacation, it was well worth it.
TSB
FIRST FIRST FIRST !!!
ReplyDeleteIt's about time!!!!
ReplyDeleteTSB welcome back the CEO's thought you were gone now we can get back to critical thinking
ReplyDeleteTSB is back!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen is Aurora Spine going public?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/idUSnCCN3z3JCz+1c6+MKW20130712
Why are they set up as the sole share holder? Why go public then? I am obviously not a stock guy... What am I missing??
DeleteThey actually went public today!!!
Deletehttp://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1452701
Will Brent and Trent max out on stock or weight first? enquiring minds want to know!!!
DeleteFan F'ing Tastic!
ReplyDeleteYou're irrelevant .
ReplyDeleteWell, I for one and only one, am glad you're back.
ReplyDeleteI thought maybe one of your many enemies had executed a contract on you. Or perhaps your employer outed you.
You are not the only one who thought that. This industry is as dangerous and less ethical than the mafia.
DeletePost a poll that will pick the most dubious spine company.
ReplyDeleteTSB - You failed to mention in your prelude that Duke researchers found that patients treated with Infuse are 30% more likely to develop brain tumors. Is this the proverbially nail in the coffin for Infuse? Is there such a thing as benign tumors in the brain? I know I don't want one! Are all the Duke researchers aligned with stem cell companies. Thoughts? Maybe the most surprising news after all the surgeons being handcuffed and taken to jail. But should we really be surprised by any of this?
ReplyDeleteWe should count the number of NUVA paid surgeons in NC, we can start at Duke for sure. Anybody want to start?
DeleteWhy would it matter if any of the surgeons are NuVasive consultants (not saying that they are)? The Infuse data that was reviewed is available to the scientific community. Medtronic--or to follow your logic, Medtronic paid surgeons--can refute the findings if it is found to be inaccurate.
DeleteHeard LDR filed paperwork to go public. YAY! Now they can thieve from their shareholders like they thieve from their distributors! Pay the local manager his 10% protection money and you get to keep the business you built for him ("Hey, nice business you got there, it'd be a shame if something happened to it" - AH). Mobi-C is their latest method of getting you in "la familia" so caveat emptor.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to invest in an ongoing criminal concern, get real estate in Sicily.
Are there any LDR managers that are not slimy? I think they are all doing this. Do they teach them how to double dip at corporate?
DeleteSlimy is what you get when their leadership is a French surrender monkey. Do you know why there are trees on the side of the roads in France? They shade the Nazis as they walk through their country. Planted by the Vichy.
DeleteI went to France last year... they need to stand a little closer to the soap and shower more than once a month. Yuck!
DeleteWhen is Globus going public?
ReplyDeleteWelcome back MM.
ReplyDelete5 months in a Turkish jail cell must have provided you with some new insight and perspective.
Looking forward to something fresh.
Please list the link for study from Duke regarding the above Infuse post.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/news/spinal-fusion-material-bmp-increases-risk-of-benign-tumors-not-cancer
DeleteYou can die of a benign brain tumor almost as easily as from a malignant one. I can't believe this stuff is still on the market.
DeleteI can believe it is on the market, companies want to make money, I just can't believe "intelligent surgeons" still believe in it. I have been railing against this product since it's inception.
DeleteThis is totally irresponsible for the FDA to allow this to stay on the market!! Medtronic should have the shizznit sued out of them, and the PIs should be banned from future studies. EVERYONE should write their congressmen to yank this product today. Any surgeon implanting this needs to ask themselves one question..."Would I put this in my own mother?"
DeleteAny thoughts on SI Bone and others regarding the Sacroiliac Joint Fusion procedure and the new T Code 0334T as of July 1, 2013? If a surgeon codes for CPT 27280 instaed of the 0334T code is that fraud? Could the insurance payer or CMS ask for their insurance reimbersement back from the Hospital, ASC or Surgeon? Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteTranS1 got stuck with a Tcode and then paid millions for fraud. Although never stated or admitted to guilt, it is highly assumed for billing the ALIF code for AxiaLIF, not the TCode. Watch out.
DeleteWelcome back TSB. A breath of fresh air in an increasingly suffocating environment.
ReplyDeleteIs it true that next week Omar will announce the spin-off of MDT Spine as a wholly owned subsidiary?
ReplyDeleteActually that may be the only thing that saves Danek. They have the infrastructure, inventory and contracts that allow them access. They have to divest the A-holes in senior management who have ruined it though. Need some fresh blood and energy. Last RVP I worked for (Ray C.) was the biggest loser, useless tool they had. I don't think he ever made his number but he sure could toss Doug King's salad. That's what it took to get ahead and why they are now so far behind.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see that all the whiners & complainers in the industry have their blog back. Instead of pissing & moaning on here about all that's wrong in the industry, perhaps all of you should try acting as professionals, go sell something and provide something constructive to discuss.
ReplyDeleteWell said Chadwick (Medtronic)...I guess you didn't like the last post.
DeleteStarting with you 5:39???
ReplyDelete5:39 excluded of course.
ReplyDeleteSpoiler alert: Walt's going to poison Walt Jr with the ricin for snitching.
ReplyDeleteFlynn?
DeleteHow does a company increase distributor commissions but decrease expenses? Food for thought
ReplyDeleteSorry Frenchie, holiday bonuses are coming up! - Alphatec Spine Announces Intent to Restructure Scient'x Business Operations:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.4-traders.com/ALPHATEC-HOLDINGS-INC-17247/news/Alphatec-Holdings-Inc--Alphatec-Spine-Announces-Intent-to-Restructure-Scientx-Business-Operations-17272134/
Does a restructure even help? What is the burn to remove the French?
ReplyDeleteSaving $2-6M gets ATEC in the black for the first time
ReplyDeleteThank you for shining the light on this loathsome industry!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the VBs are still in this business dragging the image and ethics down
ReplyDeleteWelcome back TSB. A Swiss reader is glad to have you back online to stay informed what's up in the wild wild west. I wish you a good start with your new website and will certainly check it out.
ReplyDeletePrediction on NASS announcements? Any M&A activity?
ReplyDeleteRumors:
ReplyDeleteStryker buying SI Bone (SI run rate over 50 million)
Biomet buys LANX (invertors want their money out and Biomet sees value in the Lanx intellectual property- same reason they bought interpore CROSS)
Baxano (Trans1) purchased by Medtronic (Medtronic cant develop anything-so they will simply buy again to show shareholders they are doing something)
People have been leaving Lanx in droves, somethings up....The place still has the same toxic atmosphere. Do you really think that Biomet will buy it for lateral alone? They really have nothing else to offer. Dan G., & his Minneapolis Mafia are greedy little carpetbaggers who care nothing about long term employees, of whom there are very few left.
DeleteVery few remain, no one in sales and marketing. Key thing to remember is that engineering has done nothing but grow- and they have been getting patents on new IP since 2006. Buying a company for it's IP alone can be a good ROI. Biomet is making $$ on virtually every Pedicle screw used because they got the 555 patent when they bought InterporeCross...
DeleteCross was financially strapped and never had the resources to prosecute their patents- Interpore lacked the smarts. Biomet saw $$$.
It's pretty much official. Biomet is buying Lanx. Employees are being told not to wear their Lanx logo shirts to work. As usual, & expected, many will lose their jobs, stock has been so diluted that options won't be worth anything but chump change. Probably get a decent severance, but then what? Congratulations, to Dan Gladney, & the Minneapolis Mafia. You did exactly what the board wanted, & are getting even richer than you already are. Once again, the middle class takes it up the ass. When will the sheeple revolt???????????
DeleteAny idea how much per share they are paying? Are they waiting for NASS to announce?
DeleteMany reports are surfacing that a Lanx RVP from the midwest has contacted several employees and confirmed this...
DeleteLanx has no Midwest RVP
DeleteRich is an RSD. A couple of letters off but it doesn't change the tale.
DeleteWell so far your 33% right....Lanx was acquired by Biomet, now on to SI bone and TranS1/Baxano Surgical??? how accurate are those predictions???
DeleteWelcome back TSB. It was too quiet this summer. I hope your tennis game improved.
ReplyDeleteYes, TSB is back and this blog is just as stale as it's ever been.
DeleteCan't handle the truth Doc?
DeleteTBS, I have abandonment issues and you nearly triggered a total all out panic attack. I was lost without your direction. I missed you like the flower misses the rain. So many scenarios crossed my mind - was he kidnapped and held hostage by one of the big 5 or by all of the Big 5s ? Did his rapier wit let slip a trade secret that would cost him his blog? Was he under a gag order after the expose of the POD scams? Did his wife demand more face time with him ? All sorts of crazy thoughts went thru my silly head. But alas you have returned - faithful as ever to your mission. Yet I still suspect that there is something you are not telling us about your 5 months absence. And my psychic hotline friend tells me that you are writing a book that will expose the rotten insides of the orthopedic industry in Arabic and that you have been salmon fishing in Yemen this entire time. :)
ReplyDeleteAnyone know why NUVA is under investigation by the OIG? I know they said possible false or otherwise improper claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid but any specifics?
ReplyDeleteProbably involves the scheme that they have been perpetrating involving having their referring surgeons all bill for each others neuromonitoring professional fees.
DeleteSee the neurosurgeon in Wisconsin who got his buddy physician to "read real time" intraoperative monitoring and provided him with bogus reports and then billed for them....now he is facing federal indictments, lots of jail time and money in fines, for all of about $65k...brilliant!
http://www.wisn.com/news/south-east-wisconsin/milwaukee/neurosurgeon-pleads-not-guilty-to-insurance-fraud/-/10148890/20297864/-/cri6k6/-/index.html
Delete--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⌂BusinessBiotech NuVasive drops 13 percent on subpoena
By Bradley J. Fikes8:50 a.m.July 31, 2013 ⎙Print 🔖Save 💬Comments 3 ✉3
Comments SAN DIEGO — Shares of spinal implant maker NuVasive fell 13 percent Wednesday after the company disclosed that it received a subpoena regarding possibly false or improper Medicare and Medicaid claims.
Shares of NuVasive closed at $22.82, down $3.28 from Tuesday’s close. The decline erased more than $100 million in share value. Even with the loss, NuVasive still has a market value of more than $1 billion.
NuVasive disclosed the subpoena from the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
It said the subpoena seeks documents from January 2007 to April 2013.
On March 26, the Office of Inspector General for Health and Human Services issued a special fraud alert regarding doctor-owned groups that sell or arrange for sale of implantable medical devices ordered by doctor-owners for use on their own patients. The alert did not specifically mention spinal implants.
The alert said such arrangements could result in “improper inducements” for the use of implants among doctors, the doctor-owned groups, device sellers and purchasers. In other words, patients might be subjected to unnecessary operations because of financial conflicts of interest.
“Longstanding OIG guidance makes clear that the opportunity for a referring physician to earn a profit, including through an investment in an entity for which he or she generates business, could constitute illegal remuneration under the anti-kickback statute,” the fraud alert stated. “The anti-kickback statute is violated if even one purpose of the remuneration is to induce such referrals.”
Alex said during the last quarterly shareholders conference call (during the Q & A) that it was partially surrounding their Osteocel (or maybe he said biologics). Could the "study payments to surgeons" for implanting 'fresh frozen allograft' be less than above board?
DeleteThis summer RTI Biologics acquired Pioneer Surgical for a song(er), why didn't it make it to your "He's Back!!!!!!!!!!!!" list?
ReplyDeleteWriting the book in Paris, Salmon fishing in Alaska
ReplyDeleteMy psychic online buddy got it half right - FYI Stryker was court ordered to settle its first CerviCore product liability suit. Check it out - Killen v Stryker Pennsylvania
DeleteLike to hear about new and less invasive treatments like they have in the civilized world.
ReplyDeleteHey Philo, glad to hear the lawbreakers at Stryker are at least being held to some modicum of responsibility. Sadly they won't be facing jail time.
http://spinesupport.org/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=1524.msg2197#msg2197
ReplyDeleteFB, how goes it? The docket for the Killen v Stryker product liability lawsuit shows that the Judge Court Ordered a Settlement Conference on its own motion and set the settlement conference for September 20, 2013. By all appearances, the case settled and the settlement agreement does not appear to be made public.
There are a number of litigates from different jurisdictions who can now file - except that they all still have the disc implanted because Stryker is refusing to authorize their surgeons to remove the device ( for fear of evidence pointing to the fact that another unauthorized biologic may have been randomly used to ENHANCE fusion). This product is called Osteogenic protein one or OP-1 (rBMP 7).
Also, the Killen case was filed before anyone of any influence realized that the CerviCore disc was never granted a valid IDE from the FDA. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00588601
Therefore, all of the new cases will be litigants who are still suffering ( excruciating pain) from the numerous adverse events posed by the implantation of a metal on metal disc and coated with Osteogenic protein. Stryker holds the patent for this process as well. Go to the link on top and read the post posing the question: If an IDE is revoked by the FDA, can a Sponsor (Stryker, in this case) claim pre-emption in product liability lawsuit?
These are going to be very interesting times with regard to the entanglements between Sponsors who covertly test market products without FDA approval and the surgeons (unauthorized PIs) who do the dirty work that results in either deaths or permanent maiming and crippling of the poor victims of faux clinical trials. There is a lot more to this debacle and abuse of power and fraud, and I will bet the farm (before I lose it to a GMO invasion) that we will see criminal prosecutions for unauthorized human experimentation, as we did with the Synthes indictment and prosecution. Only this time, the surgeons will be included on the indictments as co- conspirators.
Stanford University Confirms Link Between Infuse Bone Graft Product and Cancer
ReplyDeleteSeptember 17th, 2013 Julie Anne Fidler
A 40 mg dose or larger of Medtronic’s Infuse bone graft product is linked to an increased risk of new cancer, according to researchers at Stanford University, who published their findings in the September 4, 2013 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
For the study, researchers gathered publicly available data from patients with degenerative lower spine conditions who underwent spinal fusions with either a high-dose of rhBMP-2 or a traditional bone graft, which uses bone harvested from the patient’s own body. The latter group was designated the control group, and the risk of new cancers in each group was noted at two and five years after surgery.
At the two-year mark, with 86-percent follow-up, 15 new cancers were diagnosed in 11 patients in the rhBMP-2 group, compared with two new cancers in two patients in the control group. At five years, there was a 37% loss of follow-up, but significantly larger occurrence of cancer was seen in the rhBMP-2 group.
Just three months ago, two independent studies overseen by Yale University that were published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine revealed that Infuse was linked to numerous harmful and potentially deadly side effects, including retrograde ejaculation, pain and extraneous bone growth, as well as cancer. The Yale study also indicated that there was no benefit of Infuse over a traditional bone graft.
Medtronic was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in cervical spine surgery. The device became especially controversial as more and more surgeons began to use it for off-label purposes. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation in November 2008 into the marketing of Infuse for off-label uses after the FDA received at least 280 reports of side effects involving the product. About three-quarters of those reports involved off-label uses of Infuse.
- See more at: http://www.badmedicaldevicesblog.com/2013/09/stanford-university-confirms-link-between-infuse-bone-graft-product-and-cancer/#sthash.VQI9HZSh.dpuf
This should open the door to some serious debate about the use of bone Morpheogenic products in the spine. I have tones of research on this biologic and will submit it upon request.
InFuse was never approved in the cervical spine. Medtronic in-fact had a warning letter go out warning about cervical use after serious complications. Keep piling up the "tones" of research.
DeleteWow...that's your position?!? You were better off not replying. What part of cancer did you not understand...there must be some gene being inhibited by $$ that is blocking your ability to be logical.
DeleteI have no position. I'm pointing out the false statements he/she or you are making. There's obviously an agenda here just like the previous statements of BMP being used on implants in clinical trials. It never happened.
DeleteInFuse was never approved in cervical. Everyone is aware of the issues with Infuse. At ease Francis..
That is bad logic. The product reviewed by Stanford although BMP-2 was a much higher dose than INFUSE and was never launched. To compare the two and draw conclusions is an unsupportable argument. It is like trying to bad mouth a glass
Deleteof drinking water because a few people drowned in a pool.
Well said. The things this person is posting are either flawed, inaccurate or just completely false. InFuse doesn't need defenders, it's kicked enough and much is deserved. If this person had a bad outcome, that is unfortunate.
DeleteMaybe this will help:
Deletehttp://www.finance.senate.gov//newsroom/chairman/release/index.cfm?id=b1d112cb-230f-4c2e-ae55-13550074fe86
Excerpt (from a table) from this congressional (publicly available) document:
Medtronic produced a list of payments to physician authors of
the 13 industry studies that were the subject of The Spine Journal
article published in June 2011. Paid by Medtronic for Infuse from 1996-2010:
-Boden-$28.8M
-Branch-$3.16M
-Burkus-$6.38M
-Concept Properties-$64.83M
-Dickman-$3.27M
-Dimar-$1.77M
-Glassman-$1.75M
-Gornet-$4M
-Haid-$25.6M
-Heller-$1.77M
-Inspire LLC-$2.91M
-Rodts-$3.18M
-Sonntag-$22.9M
-Transfeldt-$3.56M
-Zdeblick-$34.2M
So ?
DeleteEnvy is an ugly emotion.
It's apparent you think by throwing accusations around, along with more inaccuracies, that it helps your argument.
It doesn't
Flinging poo on others and waving your arms around just shows... that you have poo on your own hands. Not compelling.
A) You missed the point
DeleteB) You didn't read the senate's findings (the link above)
C) I don't blame the surgeons for accepting a large sum of $ for work that was asked of them
D) This amount of money seems well above the "fair market value" that Advamed guidelines state
E) For a company that continually complains about other companies "buying" surgeons duskiness, this puts them at the front of the class.
F) I didn't throw accusations, I copied the findings presented at the Senate Finance Committee Meeting that represented actual emails and internal Medtronic documents...in fact, I offered no opinion of my own
G) I do not envy what this company did
The question is, why are you so defensive about it...
business not duskiness in point E...
DeleteChimpanzees toss poo like you and make a lot of noise too.
DeleteSay......
Take that back !
DeleteNot fair comparing her to a chimp !
Chimps are rational and fling poo less often, according to studies.
"Rabid Chimp" poster makes error of quoting erroneous material. Junk in / Junk out.
DeleteSo many errors in quoted material it renders it toothless.
Rabid Chimp keeps diluting her argument with all the glaring errors and doesn't even see it.
You are so immature and sophomoric in your name-calling.
DeleteYou salesmen are so LOATHSOME ! And your industry is DIRTY !. You should all end up in JAIL Why are you so defensive ? You didn't help me ! And I will have you know for a fact I have never been called a chimp ! At least not now that I tweeze my brow anyway.
When seeing the list of surgeons above and the payments made to them I have to assert that the only way to rack up those kinds of payments would be via royalties. Now I must ask, how much intellectual property did any of those surgeons provide to the development of the product. I'll give you a clue, the licensed the product from Wyeth/Genetics Institute before any of these surgeons got involved. Their involvement was supposedly unbiased scientific study, which would provide no royalty. The only people who make money based on sales of a product are the people who sell it (commission) and the people who own the IP (royalty). Which category do you think these surgeons fall into? Maybe Zdeblick got a cut because it was cleared with his LT cage (even though 95%+ BMP sales were not with his cage).
Delete...and Medtronic pulls all of their people and product from NASS. Inside sources said King was pissed about the bad pub Infuse was getting at NASS. Also said they got denied a few podium spots to counter the talks on Infuse issues. Went by their booth to see:
Delete-No Products
-Only Office of Medical Affairs folks
How is that for Monkey poo?
Rabid Chimp out
That's not bad monkey poo there RC.. But by being factual it differs from your regular Crap you throw. It's apparent you feel you have a bone to pick against MDT and INFUSE. You likely imagine you got it secretly coated on a dental implant and suspect that is the reason for your increasingly mental errors, foggy reasoning and paranoid psychosis. You fear your brain is turning to bone and MDT is to blame. Hate to tell you but it's probably prions.
DeleteGo get help.
For your information it's "increasing mental errors" I'm having, not "increasingly" Ha!
DeleteAt least I am still able to mostly catch and correct it when I miss-spel.
Go to this link - ( you will need a computer with good resolution because the image will not show up on an Ipad window)
ReplyDeleteClick www.http://CerviCoreSpine.com < this is from a Myelogram CTscan taken of my C5C6 post CerviCore disc coated with an unknown at this time biologic. This is one of the many reasons that Stryker is rejecting claims to have the device removed with a revision surgery. This is an attempt to cover up the fact that not only was the CerviCore trial halted by the FDA in 2006 for malfunctioning, but the devices were coated with an rBMP or Osteogenic protein one. Additionally, the device is corroding and causing bone necrosis and I am severely allergic to nickel, the metal that was never disclosed to any of us. We were never screened for any of the metals or told of the serious risk of metal wear leading to metal ion release and metallosis.
I am looking for a ghost writer to help me publish the stories of the victims of this inhumane and sadistic unauthorized human experimentation. The surgeons involved treated us like we were "verbotims" - sub human. And when we dared to complain that we were experiencing excruciating pain, we were told it was all in our heads. The surgeons blamed us for the pain by saying we were not doing the PT or whatever lame excuse they could come up with to justify not running the tests they were required to do, had this been a legitimate trial. The stories are heartbreaking and many lives and families are in ruin - devastated by the aftermath of adverse events caused by this lethal device, CerviCore. We need a voice as my Heath is failing rapidly and I only recently learned that I had a C2 Jefferson Fracture that was never disclosed to me before I was fast tracked into Stryker Spines covert test marketing of coating the CerviCore disc with rBMP 7 aka OP-1.
You need a fiction writer.. BMP coated on an implant?
Deletehttp://www.hoganlovells.com/files/Uploads/Documents/Hogan%20Lovells%20Health%20Alert%20-%20April%2023,%202013.pdf
ReplyDeleteImplications of OIGs special fraud alert to current PODs. No More Free Lunch
Announcement of Biomet purchase of Lanx should be coming before NASS. Seems to be common knowledge at this time. Big question is for how much, word is that it will be around a dollar a share because of share dilution.
ReplyDeleteShocked they would buy Lanx instead of a winner like Amedica.
DeleteWho would buy them when there are so many new (and better) SI-Joint products coming to market?
DeleteSI Bone OWNS the market segment (98% of all Si Fusions)
DeleteSI Bone OWNS the relationships with surgeons that do the procedure (They trained them/support them/and service them)
SI Bone OWNS the IP for the only implant concept that works (threaded devices have been around for some time and don't work well)
Better new products "coming" to market? The bus left the station 4 years ago.
Threaded devices don't work well for fusion? I can tell you have been in Spine and Orthopaedics for a long time.
DeletePlease re read the statement. No mention of fusion.
DeleteEarly outcome success with iFuse is based on immediate stable internal fixation, patients are walking out of the hospital- Fusion occurs later.
Not the typical race to fusion before the hardware fails. The iFuse , dare I say, cannot break like a screw- and when placed properly cannot back out.
Read something on the subject, other then what your company provided.. Understand that what your company taught you is reality in their eyes, temper what they teach you with unimpeachable peer reviewed clinical data. The path to wisdom is only traveled by those that truly seek truth. Turn away from the dark side- resist becoming a fast talking implant jockey. .
Learn a book
Oh and bye the way- 25 years in spine. The last 15 creating and implementing training programs for reps and surgeons.
11:03: Your fist line was "SI Bone Owns the market segment (98% of all Si Fusions)" - so yes you did mention fusions. The statement that the Si Bone product is not in the typical race to fusion before the hardware fails and cannot back out is difficult to believe and makes me question your experience in Spine and Orthopaedics. I don't represent a company with an SI product, nor have I received any company literature or training but I have received sound Orthopaedic training and my own experience. There is not a product commercially available that will survive for a long time with the loads the human body puts on it, thus the need for Fusion or Healing. If you claim you have such a product, that is comical. Keep drinking the Koolaid. You sound like a newbie rep to me.
DeleteYour tone, its all wrong......... You keep doing it I'm going to have to stick you in the face with a soldering iron.
DeleteChristopher
Any word on SI Bone being purchased?
ReplyDeletewhat is this Aurora company making noise out of Carlsbad, CA?
ReplyDeleteMy guess is people chewing and getting fatter?????
DeleteAre the VB brothers having another cigar party? Any other good events?
ReplyDeleteI hear both Clinton and Obama will be there. But for different reasons. Pitcher/catcher stuff.
DeleteBREAKING NEWS:
ReplyDeleteFar East Movement is attending NASS next week!
http://www.exhibitatnass.org/AM2013/public/Content.aspx?ID=93&sortMenu=103004
"Poppin bottles in the ice, like a blizzard
When we drink we do it right gettin slizzard
Sippin sizzurp in my ride, in my ride, like Three 6
Now I'm feelin so fly like a G6 Spine."
Not much of a stretch from Snuggie Spine, ShamWow Spine, Ginseng Spine, and MagicJack Spine.
Stryker sues Biomet, sales reps over alleged poaching scheme.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.massdevice.com/news/stryker-sues-biomet-sales-reps-over-alleged-poaching-scheme
Infuse were still talking about infuse. Man get over it. PODS are not going to stop until a rep with hard evidence turns them in. If I had hard evidence dam right I would. Each line item is a $25,000 fine. So, Rods on line 1, Screws on line 2, Locking Cap line 3, Cage line 4, Infuse or bone graft line 5, back brace line 6. Thats $150,000 in fines. The WHistle blower gets 25%. The doctors fired the first blow. I would turn them in, in a heart beat if I run across and solid evidence.
ReplyDeleteThe fine is not based on the line items of the invoice. Its per violation. And the fine can be treble the damages plus $50,000 per violation, even absent a conviction
Deletehttp://www.healthlawyers.org/hlresources/Health%20Law%20Wiki/Anti-Kickback%20Statute.aspx
Your right its per violation. The medicare fraud investigators I talked to sad the same thing. Each line item is a violation so it IS $150,000 per case.
DeleteSo if a deformity guy does it and uses 12 different sizes of screws, his fine is $300,000? That is incorrect, the surgery might be counted as a violation, but every line item. If that was the case, then it would be for each screw. If one guys used 4 screws, same size and another guy used 4 of different sizes, you're saying they would get fined different amounts? Use your head Columbo
DeleteCan someone please explain the Solera screw. If the bottom 2/3 is a cancellous thread and the upper 1/3 is cortical, how does it make it a cortical screw? My thought process is if the screw enters the cortical bone as a cancellous screw (wider pitch/thread pattern)), once the cortical portion enters the bone (tighter pitch/thread pattern) won't there be less purchase? What is the pull out strength with these screws?
ReplyDeletePitch is different on the two threads obviously. how would that affect purchase? cortical purchase is grabbing the cortex. makes perfect sense
DeleteThe pitch is the same. It is a dual lead thread and the only difference in any other dual lead thread is that one of them tapers out after the first 15-20mm and the other continues to the tip of the screw. You cant have a screw with 2 separate thread pitches, the screw cant advance without stripping one of the threads. I have seen no data that says that screw design has better pullout than a standard fully threaded screw (single or dual lead).
DeleteHa ha ha ha ha! !!!!!!!! I love being out of spine! I suggest preserving your home life and free time and make the move.
ReplyDeleteI agree 7:18. I too am out of spine and have not been happier. The only thing spine provided was a decent payroll check. Beyond that the industry has become so tainted and the joy of being in device sales has faded many years ago. Those of you getting into it now have a big battle ahead of you. Get out while you can and enjoy life.
ReplyDeleteSo if you guys are out of spine, why waste your time on a spine-related blog? Longing for the comfort of familiarity? If I was to leave an industry I would never look back..................................I suggest you do the same
DeleteGood point. I just like coming back on here once in a while to see how miserable everyone is.
DeleteLanx/Biomet announcement today!
ReplyDeleteI guess the world is now in a better place. We can all sleep now at night.
DeleteGreat opportunity for Lanx engineers to interview at NASS.
Delete"The people's blog site where news, ideas, job opportunities and what's been heard on the street can be discussed in a professional manner."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/07/in-biomet-idUSnBw076403a+100+BSW20131007
Can anyone say....fire sale! 1.5 times sales puts LANX out of it's misery!
DeleteANNOUNCE AND HIDE !!! No details because they are crazy bad.
Delete1.5x sales - 26 million shares= neighborhood of 30 cents a share. Early options were for 40 cents a share.
Look for fist fights on the exhibit floor at NASS!!!
Correction: 260 million shares... still about 30 cents a share. What a show, Dan Gladney really ran that company into the ground!
DeleteDan Gladney of Curity/Kendall?? Cotton balls, underpads, bandaids..oops I mean Curads...he is running Lanx
DeleteYou mean he WAS running LANX! The diaper guy took an 85M company and spent every nickel til it was all gone. Paid NUVA millions in the poaching lawsuit, hired his kid to run around to strip clubs. Dan's a real winner.
Delete2:47 There won't be any fist fights on the exhibit floor at NASS, all the LANX will be at the bar doing what they do best. How do you think they spent all that money. Ansari will be pounding his usual 30 Stoli with his posse.
DeleteA brief history of Lanx....The only hope for cashing in options for the hard working people who built that company was gone with the stock market crash of 2008. Aspen was at it's apex, & the company still had integrity. Then the games began. Stocking orders to prop up sales numbers, the Michael DeMane fiasco, Fulton being shown the door by the board, & everyone, & their brother putting an interspineous device on the market, all added up to catastrophe. Enter Dan Gladney, the wanna be Carl Ichan corporate raider, & his Minneapolis cohorts. They did what the board wanted them to do, & were paid handsomely for their efforts. How long did you expect the investors were going to keep waiting for a payoff? What did you think was happening to your options, when people like Cappucinno are coming on board, & Steve D. is out getting another 15 million in vc money? I'll bet all of the senior vp's are walking away from this deal with pockets full of cash. Say what you want about Fulton. If he were still there, he would have made sure that those who made that company what it was got their share. Instead, business as usual. People who can barely spell spine come in, & take from those who did everything they could to build the company, while smiling, & lying to their faces the entire time
DeleteYUP- I started in 2006 and put in 5 years (left in 2011-not by choice). exercised 95000 options (out of 169000). Heard about the Biomet deal - at first I thought my prayers were answered. By all reports I will be loosing 5k on my investment.
DeleteFeels like I was sodomized in 2011 and now 2 years later I find out I got AIDS in the process.....
LANX may quickly become the most hated company in the history of spine. Surgeons, investors and employees all have been violated. Wonder if the company officers will ever be seen in public again.
The Cappuccino and "friends" deal is what undid the company. Forget what they paid him - his rep/concubine was paid 700k- until his wife found out. Lanx then had to can her and pay out her guarantee! The other rep in town had a 500k deal. ALL BROKERED BY ANDY.
DeleteWhen is the big announcement? When will it spell clear what the share holders are getting. 1.5 times sales (assuming 85 million) gives you a sales price of $127.5 million divided by 240 million shares outstanding equals $0.53 a SHARE. LMAO MY OPTIONS WERE FOR $0.58 a SHARE. LMAO SO GLAD I DID NOT GIVE THEM A CENT. LMAO LMAO.. Hysterical. Can they get sued over this? I am dying to hear the announcements. And all the distributors that flipped to LANX. HA HA what say you now. Enjoy Biomet and I hope they keep paying you those $300k guarantees,,,, better yet I bet you don’t keep your territory!!!!! RUUUHHHHHROOOOOOO
DeleteLanx really played the Cappuccino card like a Stradivarius. All of those meetings, & lunches with the "regular people" where he, & DenHaese showed us how they were just a couple of regular guys, & were going to take Lanx to the top. What a SCAM! How do these people look in the mirror in the morning. People with MILLIONS getting more. Kudos to the Lanx H.R. machine for keeping the façade believable for the naiive who desperately wanted it to be true........
Delete7:09, is that 169,000 shares? These pieces of shit were printing up shares / options the way the Federal Reserve prints money! I thought I had a lot at 25,000 shares. This thing was never going to pay off, & they knew it. I hope that congress sticks in there, & the debt ceiling isn't raised, & entire system goes belly up! Then what's all of their precious money going to do for them?
DeleteBiomet Spine "is not" innovated in engineering and by acquiring Lanx proves it. Biomet only acquired Lanx for its sales territory & surgeon relationships. I wouldn't be surprised if Biomet comes into Lanx & pulls a "shock and all" to the dedicated ones. You were warned and if history repeats itself, just ask a former employee at Interpore Cross circa 2004.
DeleteLast one out of the Broomfiled building should leave the lights on and let Biomet pay the electric bill. Just sayin, from Jearseyliscious!
What did you expect to happen? LANX blew through so much cash in the past couple of years thanks to Nick Ansari aka "Nick I'msorry" and his one bad deal after another. He single handedly brought down this company with his B.S. and terrible judgement. NUVA got more out of LANX in the lawsuit than any employee will get with their sweat and hard work.
DeleteI LOVE IT!!!! TSB IS BACK!!!!! I WONDER WHAT "TRICKY NICK" ANSARI IS GOING TO BABBLE ABOUT IN HIS DRUNKEN STUPOR AT NASS???? LET ME GUESS....."I'M NOT A CROOK!"
DeleteDoes Lanx sell direct or use distribution??
DeleteHeard "Tricky Nicky" is gonna be VP of Fraud for Destefano's compounding company.
DeleteThey sell direct, non-exclusive distributor and exclusive distributor (no one is close to exclusive).
DeleteYou mean the Biomet deal isn't a good deal?
DeleteMetaphorically speaking: Imagine some dumb ass, crooked business, drug dealing thugs were given command of a big boat. Using laundered pimp money, they proceeded to deck it out with a new stereo system, stripper poles, and cool stuff they could buy with somebody else's cash. Then shortly thereafter get caught by the "man" and had the boat seized.
Wouldn't it be wise for somebody to buy the boat at auction for cheap?
Biomet's driving the boat now.
Just so happens that the boat is twice as big now as their previous boat. These guys don't know how to drive a boat to begin with, and may run the thing aground if they aren't careful. Which will surely happen soon.
Good Luck!
Really curious as to who 7:09 is, you have to be high up in sales or marketing to have had that many options. Why buy your options? It was crystal clear by mid 2010 that shares had been diluted to the point where they weren't worth face value. I would have to guess that you were in sales, making a highly inflated salary, so instead of going to titty bars or Vegas, you decided to take a couple of weeks off, & take a chance. Or you were drinking Lance DeNardin's potent Kool-Aid, & believing the crap that all of us were being fed
DeleteNope. was one of the first hired when Lanx started selling. Because of the risk involved, most early stage start ups need to offer large stock options to entice people to join up. When I got there we had a allograft cervical bone and a POS cervical plate. I was not a highly paid asset but had a huge background and experience in spine- so I manager to survive for 5 years- those were the days when everyone in sales was terminated on an annual basis (but I was spared).
DeleteNo titty bars or golf courses in Maui for me. I was covering cases on the day after Christmas or preparing cadavers for labs in some dungeon.
The crazy spending began at Lanx when Tim Burney and Bill Phost convinced Cliff the president that throwing money in the air and everywhere would attract business. These guys knew nothing about how to do business in spine, but boy they could have won prizes for how they could piss through money. When they finally got bagged the damage was done to people that were the backbone of the company- but also, the valve that controlled spending was broken in the wide open position.
De Nardin was hired to fire as many people as he could- which has been his historic role. He was brilliant- one of his first maneuvers was to eliminate the training department-no more rep or surgeon training programs- lets spend the money in titty bars!
That's enough- I should write a book.
Thanks for the blast from the past, I think I've got you figured out. Cliff Owens.......what a scumbag, pretentious piece of shit he was! He's the one who started bringing on all of his Medtronic buddies on board at high salaries for doing nothing
DeleteI cant say anything bad about Cliff. I never worked directly with him but I was told that he had protected me from on high from the BurnMe and Ghost lynching party- some said it was Fulton pulling the string. But regardless, I always show gratitude for loyalty.
DeleteOne less ankle chewing company, wonder where all the rats will run to?
ReplyDeleteThe industry has become an incestuous pot of retreads. Especially on the VP level.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to Oliver Burckhardt?
ReplyDeleteYou haven't heard? He's selling flowers now
DeleteFlowers? WTF?
DeleteI was an original investor in Lanx when they were begging for "bootstrap" start up money. When I heard about the Biomet deal I thought I had won the lottery. Turns out that 260 million others had the winning number. Hope to get at least part of my original 50k back.
ReplyDelete1:17, if you were an original investor, you should have preferred shares, & be at the front of the line. If you didn't work out that kind of deal, you deserve to lose your money
ReplyDeleteNope. several years in, I think when we went from Llc to Inc., they restructured the stock ownership plan. The old shares were converted to the new program- the par values for the conversion were set according to where your option agreement was set.
DeleteEach time they issued more shares the terms made them more valuable then the old shares- a gimmick to sell them to existing shareholders.
Or something like that- Nonetheless , the masterminds at todays Lanx found a way to rob the investors and line their pockets.
When I get my fedx delivery from Lanx with the details of the deal and papers to sign I will share.
I hope you are right and I am wrong.
In order to keep the ship a float they had to make substantial guarantees to new investors, as they were out of cash. The guys that put 15M in earlier this year were guaranteed to get their money back at a minimum. I believe they were at around 80cents a share. The purchase was for 147M apparently and therefore about 58cents a share. Once these investors and others at the head of the line (read senior management) get their money out, very little will be left over for the people with common stock and therefore their share price will be much lower than simply dividing the purchase price and number of shares (probably in the 30cents a share range). What a mismanaged disaster a once profitable company gets run aground by poor management.
DeleteWell then 1:17/5:38, you have my sympathies. And thank you 7:12 for the explaination. Add CFO Steve Deitsch to the list of scumbags, along with the Minneapolis Mafia collected their 6 figure incomes while screwing everyone else
DeleteIs tar and feathering considered simple assault?
DeleteDepends who you are tar and feathering...if they are in management from LANX it's considered to be customary for dirty rotten scoundrels.
Deleteseems those who actually bought into Lanx will be the only ones who actually lose real money, the rest unfortunately will just experience worthless stock options
DeleteTSB - Is your new website up yet? Waiting with anticipation!!
ReplyDeleteTSB's new website is up. Enjoy!
Deletehttp://www.banksyny.com
What's word coming out of the BIG EASY? Any NASS news, yet? Or is it the same ole Jambalaya again this year?
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are a bunch of new pedicle screws and a bunch of suits standing around like drug store indians.
DeleteIs Nickhead from LANX over kissing butts at the Biomet booth trying to save his sorry ass?
DeleteNOOOOO,,,, not Biomet....That Would Be Alphawreck he is headed too! Him and his Daddy.
DeleteHe's.........NOT BACK!
ReplyDeleteCome on Mr. SpineBlooger.
Let's see that new site and perhaps a special report from the exhibit floor at NASS.
NASS is nothing but the same ole' shit show that it's always been.
ReplyDeleteHow about Dan Gladney leaving his wife of 30+ years for his mistress half his age and parading her around at LANX events. Dan was more worried about getting his dick wet than running LANX.
ReplyDeleteTypical corporate gangster.
DeleteWhat a stand up guy
ReplyDeleteAnd now she's leaving him, & taking half of the money that he stole from Lanx. Maybe I'll show her what someone with a real dick can do, & get some of the money that Dan stole from me!
DeleteDan must be a very sexy man with a lot of stamina- after all -look at all the people he has screwed in the past two years.
DeleteGET IN LINE!
DeleteX-Lanx Crazy Rumor- or is it part of a diabolical plan?
ReplyDeleteLanx was created by Thraman and Fulton. When selling the original shares they set up a holding company called "Santos Holding " that controlled 51% of the company stock-basically so they could maintain control of the company even after they sold large amounts to the VC folks.It may have been broken up But:
The conspiracy theory guys are telling me that Fulton & Thraman are taking the cash they are getting from the sale and starting a new spine company. They have already hired the VP of engineering (that accidently invented ASPEN and adapted their posterior pedicle based retractor system to Lateral and called it Timberline) - the key gal that had ALL the surgeon relationships from ASPEN- and some of the key training and support people . ( and a few key surgeons from the early days)
The name of the new company-"Phoenix Spine" of course. Rising from the ashes of destruction and ruin. MIS ISP and MIS LATERAL I suspect.
Good for them! I would go back to work for Dr. Fulton in a millisecond!!!! The man had integrity, & treated people well. If you worked hard for him, you were rewarded for it. Once he departed from Lanx, it was all downhill, & all over! Please let it be true! I'll be first in line to help him, & his new company!!!!!!
DeleteMaybe Dr. Fulton can hire all the people from Biomet that they are throwing out like trash when they move Biomet Spine to Colorado.
DeleteAny comments on Dekutoski's presentation during the robotics session? Mazor was pissed! First time I ever felt that eggs were going to be thrown from the audience!
ReplyDeleteWhat happened? What was said?
DeleteK2M - was one of the best run POD / POC's in the business. It ultimately got out of the POD/POC business with the acquisition from WCAS in which they paid off their investment surgeons over the course of several years and based off of the companies performance (to keep the surgeons loyal). Could their original model be one of the influences for POD/POC as we know it today?
ReplyDeletedont know about it being a POD but K2M is quickly and rabidly destroying its distributor network and going direct from east coast to west. They are hiring the distributors contracted reps out from underneath them, often involving tortious interference. Don J pulled this stunt in VA and Jon V just pulled it in CA. Look out distributors, the axe is coming
DeleteDon't think K2 is out of the POD biz just yet. They'll keep it where it works for them. A place like Florence, SC, for instance.
DeleteK2 is a POD in SC? What are you talking about?
DeleteIs Kelly Clarkson back?
ReplyDeleteLanx/Biomet Merger Agreement:
ReplyDeleteI imagine, like me, a bunch of folks got this over the weekend. It is several hundred pages long and completely confusing- unless you are a Merger and Acquisitions genius.
Can anyone shed light on what this means for: Common stock holders/ A Preferred/B preferred/C preferred stock value.
Any investor class action suits under way?
No firm will litigate against a company which has so few assets that winning a judgement would be a moot point.
DeleteHow about the DOJ, FBI or the FTC. White collar fraud and theft are still a crime.
DeleteJoe Ryan, where are you these days? Say it isn't so Joe...
ReplyDeleteJoe is probably venturing into another area of medicine where he can f**K up things like he did in the spine industry, plastic surgery costs alot of $$$
ReplyDeleteAnother Spine Felon Bites The Dust
ReplyDeletehttp://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20131016/NEWS05/131016010/Spyros-Panos-makes-appearance-federal-criminal-court
WHITE PLAINS — Former orthopedic surgeon Spyros Panos faces a federal felony after he allegedly defrauded insures of millions of dollars, according to an indictment today.
Panos surrendered to authorities at U.S. District Court in White Plains today. He entered a plea of not guilty to the one count of health care fraud, a felony.
He is accused of billing for millions of dollars for procedures he did not perform, according to court documents. Panos "routinely saw 60 patients per day," according to the court papers.
He allegedly fraudulently billed Medicare, the New York State Insurance Fund and various private insurers, according to the court papers. Between 2007 and 2011, Panos and the medical group that employed him filed claims for over $35 million. Of that, $13 million was paid, according to the court documents.
The federal government wants Panos to forfeit at least $5 million, according to the court papers.
Bail was set by Magistrate Judge Lisa Smith at $100,000. Panos was released under pre-trial supervision, which includes mental health counseling.
Why did they even set bail. There are probably 1000 counts of fraud. Panos is a multi millionaire so 100K is nothing to a creep butcher like him.
This must have been a hack by someone.
ReplyDeleteTSB is Back!!!! Really? Back to prison?
Letting the plagiarizing poster above back on, nary a quick witted response, and the tenor of the post seemed forced tells me that this site was hacked.
What is this about MDT/Biomet litigation I heard at NASS. Where is their VP of Sales?
And another spine industry shill babbles out of his butt. BTW, post part of an article with a link is not plagiarism. It's called fair use but I would not expect a spine shill to know the law since those of you in the medical industry have thwart the law.
DeleteImplying that TSB is a felon is libelous and if he wanted to do so he could sue you. He has your IP addy.
What is the expansion of the Globus Caliber?
ReplyDeleteThe expansion of Caliber is bigger on the outside, and less on the inside. This leads to graft "gap-osis" . If you like gap-osis this is a great design. If not don't worry we will redesign it and fix it next generation.
DeleteLANX Biomet Theft Update
ReplyDeleteSo along with selling a 90M company for peanuts and screwing every shareholder in the company, Dan has decided he and his "team" deserve to get paid millions for it. Buried in the small print, I found this on the SEC website.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/351346/000119312513394044/d609737dex21.htm
Looks like the LANX boys are getting a "Carveout" to pay themselves for running a company into the ground. Meanwhile, the shareholders have their value diluted even more.... word is the common shareholder will be getting 11cents a share. These guys should be going to jail, not get paid.
Here is how the money is being spent:
CEO Dan Gladney $4,092,480
CFO Steve Deitch $1,552,320
VP Commercialization Paul HIckey $$423,360
VP Sales Nick Ansari $352,800
SVP & General Counsel Dana Cohen $352,800
Shawn McCormick $282,240
What a joke! Paid millions for running a company so poorly. Why the powers at Biomet would allow them to pay themselves.... unless of course that was the plan from the beginning...Biomet gets a company on the cheap and those that brokered the deal get paid millions. Maybe this will be an episode on A&Es "American Greed".
Does this surprise you? It shouldn't. Everyone knew what Gladney came in to do. The top 3 people on that list are by far THE most reprehensible people I've ever worked with. The Biomet deal has been in the works for at least 18 months, yet we would have company meetings where we were directly lied to, & told that the company was not being shopped around. Once Jon Scott was gone, there was no more morality left at the company. I wonder what company Dan will run into the ground next??
DeleteGladney, Deitch, & Hickey. 3 spineless punks ripping off a spine company built by hard working people. How sickeningly ironic!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteLook at it as severance pay... These guys will all be out of a job.
ReplyDeleteActually, they are going to get severance on top of that!
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to mention the one year escrow withholding of a portion of the common share value after the transaction. To assure they don't get ripped off by something hidden.
ReplyDeleteCommon share holders will loose their asses and AND have their money (what's left of it) tied up for a year. I think Biomet put that in place because they saw how skilled the Lanx guys were at swindling investors!!!!!
When you deal with thieves for profit- you may be their next victim......
Did anyone see VTI at NASS? New products, same tired leadership. CEO was wheelin and dealin with anyone that would talk to him. Wonder if he knows that he is the problem with the company, his board must not. Spoke with one of the VP's, sounds like they are all looking to get out while they can.
ReplyDeleteHere you go POD's. Hot off the OIG Press! The OIG ain't buying your line of BS about cost savings (they are actually higher) and they have definitively identified an increase in spine fusion volumes for POD surgeons after they join a POD.
ReplyDeleteDr. Steinmann... Helloooo????
http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-01-11-00660.pdf
Surgeon salesmen? Doctors profit from devices they put in patients
Deletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57609052/surgeon-salesmen-doctors-profit-from-devices-they-put-in-patients/
What's the word on the VBros?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2013/34-70751.pdf
ReplyDeleteSEC charges Stryker with BRIBERY & CORRUPTION in violation of FCPA in 5 countries.
I say this is just tip of iceberg. It is time for the Justice Department to do an internal housecleaning now in the US. I wonder how many hospitals and surgeons were bribed to covertly continued implanting the CerviCore metal on metal intervertebral disc long after the conditional approval had been revoked by the FDA ?
None of this will stop until someone inside government blows the whistle on the cover ups and corruption between the device industry and certain long time bureaucrats inside certain regulatory agencies !
It won't stop until the corporate gangsters are thrown in jail instead of bribing their way out of it.
DeleteI hate to break it to you Philmmena, The corporations like Stryker ARE the government. Their Rethiglican errand boys cut funding to the OIG.
The drug and device industry own the government. Even the mainstream media admits it.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr7W07nMiDY