October 26, 2007

Pioneer Surgical Technology (PST) has acquired Angstrom Medica Inc, headquartered in Woburn, Mass. Angstrom is the first company to obtain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a nanotechnology device—NanOss™ .

NanOss chemistries enable products that are highly osteoconductive and can remodel over time into human bone.  NanOss has potential application in trauma, spine and general orthopaedic markets.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Angstrom  Medica Inc, becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of PST and is part of its orthobiologics division.

“Angstrom Medica and its innovative technology represent a strategic addition to the Pioneer family,” Matthew N. Songer, MD, chairman and CEO of PST, says. “This latest orthobiologic acquisition complements our mission by developing  technology that empowers surgeons to restore patients to normal function with  products and methods not currently available.”

In a company news release PST reported that NanOss, like human bone, is made of hydroxyapatite crystals. By controlling the material at the nanocrystalline level the resulting compound can have the strength of established polymer surgical implants. According to Angstrom’s CEO Edward Ahn, PhD, “This biomaterial provides an opportunity for changing orthopaedic technology by offering surgeons and their patients devices that have great strength upon implantation and may gradually be replaced by living human bone.”

This year PST also acquired Encelle Inc, a North Carolina firm that develops novel products for tissue regeneration including E-Matrix™, a sterile, injectable  biopolymer designed to repair or regenerate diseased or damaged tissue. “The Angstrom acquisition further expands Pioneer’s position and opportunity in  a growing orthobiologic market,” Wesley McDermott, PST’s vice president for new business development, says.

Source: Pioneer Surgical Technology