Devices Neurosurgery Orthopaedic Licensing

 News Release - April 24, 2008

Scient'x Re-Acquires Isobar License

PARIS, April 24 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Scient'x, S.A. announced today that it has repurchased the Isobar dynamic rod license from Alphatec Spine, Inc. thus making Scient'x the ultimate exclusive holder of the of the Isobar dynamic rod intellectual property globally. With Isobar, Scient'x was first to market in the spinal implant industry with dynamic rod technologies. With over 10,000 implants worldwide Scient'x has the longest clinical track record with dynamic rod technologies of any spinal implant company. Now 20 years old and the largest independent spinal implant company outside of the USA, Scient'x has been first to market with PEEK implants, first with dynamic rod systems, first with the plate-cage concept, and first with a ceramic cervical disc prosthesis.

The Scient'x, S.A. CEO, Michael D. Huggins, said today "I am delighted that we have re-acquired the Isobar license from Alphatec. This allows Scient'x to strengthen its leading position in the rapidly growing dynamic rod segment of the spinal implant industry. The license repurchase reestablishes Scient'x as the sole distributor of the Isobar dynamic rod. We expect that this will help the company continue to grow the Scient'x brand globally as we build Scient'x into the leading medical device company focused on providing both motion preservation and traditional solutions to spinal disorders."

Prior to his recent appointment as CEO of Scient'x, S.A., Mr. Huggins served as the President of Synthes Global Spine and was responsible for the establishment and management one of the world's largest spine businesses.

Alphatec's President and CEO, Dirk Kuyper stated that "Strategically we saw the Isobar, which we sold under the Dynamo brand name, as a potential distraction from Alphatec's strategy of being the market leader for solutions for the aging spine. A year ago, licensing the Isobar made sense for Alphatec because it was seeking to introduce novel technologies to its formidable distribution network. Today, we have refined our strategic vision and are focused on introducing novel technologies aimed at the fast growing aging spine segment of the spine market. We are pleased that we could reach a positive accommodation with Scient'x which allows us each to focus on our core strategic plans and avoids channel conflict in the market."

ABOUT SCIENT'X

Based in Paris, France, Scient'x, S.A. is the largest independent spinal implant company in Europe. The Company designs, develops and distributes an extensive line of spine surgical implants in over 50 countries around the world. Since 1988, Scient'x has been a pioneer in all aspects of spinal instrumentation including the motion preservation segment of the spine market. The Company was the first to introduce PEEK implants to spinal surgery as well as posterior dynamic stabilization technology. Scient'x has now introduced a second generation ceramic cervical disc that has achieved significant revenue traction and surgeon acceptance in Europe. Scient'x is a privately held company.

Source: Scient'x

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