DePuy Spine, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets, including intellectual property rights, related to the treatment of vertebral compression fractures from Disc-O-Tech Medical Technologies, a privately-held Israeli company under voluntary liquidation, and its Delaware subsidiary, Disc-O-Tech Orthopaedic Technologies Inc. (collectively "Disc-O-Tech"). Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to governmental regulatory review in the United States and other countries.

Under a consent order issued in October 2007 by the United States Federal Trade Commission, these assets had to be divested by Kyphon, who in December 2006 had entered into an agreement Disc-O-Tech to acquire such assets.

Assets include the Confidence System, which consists of a proprietary delivery system and a novel polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement that can be injected directly into vertebral bodies to treat compression fractures, a painful condition that occurs when one or more vertebrae collapse, usually as a result of osteoporosis. The treatment results in significant pain reduction and the restoration of mobility in many patients.

Additional acquired assets include next generation technologies in various stages of development for treating vertebral compression fractures. Each year more than 200,000 surgical interventions for vertebral compression fractures are performed worldwide.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, one-in-two women and one-in-four men in the US over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her/his remaining lifetime.

"This acquisition is a significant growth opportunity for DePuy Spine in the aging spine category and fills an important place in an already extensive product portfolio," said Gary Fischetti, president, DePuy Spine. "We are aggressively pursuing emerging technologies through our own research and development and with deals like this one. In the last year alone, we have made significant investments in other emerging areas including genetic testing for scoliosis, total facet arthroplasty and annulus repair. We are excited about the prospects for all these innovative technologies."