Wright Medical Group, Inc. Announces Initial Release of the PRO-TOE™ VO Hammertoe Fixation System
ARLINGTON, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wright Medical Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WMGI), a global orthopaedic medical device company, today announced the limited release of the PRO-TOE™ VO Hammertoe Fixation System. This new product introduction is an important solution for patients requiring fusion of the lesser toes for hammertoe deformities.
A hammertoe is a deformity of the tissues surrounding the bony structures of the lesser toes. The patient’s toes elevate and cause discomfort while wearing shoes. Designed by world-renowned foot and ankle surgeons, the PRO-TOE™ VO Hammertoe system is an efficient surgical solution for fixation of the bones being corrected.
Robert B. Anderson, M.D. of OrthoCarolina in Charlotte, North Carolina commented, “The PRO-TOE™ VO Hammertoe system provides a simple and economical solution for my patients with hammertoe deformities. The system offers solid fixation on both sides of the joint and the unique geometry allows for it to be precisely repositioned during surgery to provide the best clinical outcomes for the patient.” Dr. Anderson and his partners will be reviewing their early clinical experience with the PRO-TOE™ VO implant at Wright’s upcoming “Advances in Foot and Ankle Surgery” symposium on December 10th in New York City.
“Hammertoes are a significant problem for individuals around the globe,” states Bob Fencl, Director of Foot & Ankle Marketing for Wright. “In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that 10-20% of the population suffers from hammertoes with over 500,000 patients requiring surgical treatment each year. The PRO-TOE™ VO Hammertoe implant provides patients, surgeons and facilities distinct advantages over conventional treatment methods available today.”
The new PRO-TOE™ VO Hammertoe System will be made available in a limited-release immediately in the U.S. through Wright’s specialized Foot and Ankle sales force. Full rollout is expected to be completed by the first half of 2011. Additionally, the system will be marketed in select countries outside the U.S. through Wright’s direct and distributor-based sales representatives.
The PRO-TOE™ VO Hammertoe System is the latest addition to Wright’s market-leading suite of products for foot and ankle surgeons. These include the CHARLOTTE® family of reconstructive implants, DARCO® Locked Plating Systems, ORTHOLOC™ Polyaxial Locking Plating Systems, the BIOARCH® Subtalar Implant, SIDEKICK® External Fixators, ALLOPURE® and BIOFOAM® Osteotomy Wedge Systems, DART-FIRE® Small Screw Systems, GRAFTJACKET® Regenerative Tissue Matrix, VALOR® Hindfoot Fusion Nail, and the INBONE® Total Ankle Replacement.
About Wright
Wright Medical Group, Inc. is a global orthopaedic medical device company and a leading provider of surgical solutions for the foot and ankle market. The Company specializes in the design, manufacture and marketing of devices and biologic products for extremity, hip and knee repair and reconstruction. The Company has been in business for 60 years and markets its products in over 60 countries worldwide. For more information about Wright Medical, visit the Company’s website at www.wmt.com.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. These statements reflect management’s current knowledge, assumptions, beliefs, estimates, and expectations and express management’s current views of future performance, results, and trends and may be identified by their use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “will,” and other similar terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements.Such risks and uncertainties include the impact of Wright’s settlement of the federal investigation into Wright’s consulting arrangements with orthopaedic surgeons relating to its hip and knee products in the United States, including Wright’s compliance with a Deferred Prosecution Agreement through September 2011 and a Corporate Integrity Agreement through September 2015, and those risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including those described in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, under the heading, “Risk Factors” and in Item 1A of Part II of our 10-Qs filed during 2010). Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Such statements are made as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements after this date.
