Amedica, a Salt Lake City, UT, company that makes orthopedic implants, today announced that it has raised $13.2 million in Series D financing. Including this round, for which Creation Capital served as the placement agent, Amedica has raised roughly $44 million since November 2003. The company will spend this latest funding on manufacturing-facility expansion, product development, new hires, and on costs associated with securing patents.
Amedica’s hip, knee and spine implants are ceramic-based. Products are being developed using two main technologies: Micro Composite Ceramic (MC2) and Cancellous Structured Ceramic (CSC). MC2 encompasses a range of high-strength ceramics made from doped silicon nitride, which the company is using for applications where high wear resistance and strength are crucial to implant success, particularly in articulation. The CSC technology has a porous component designed to promote bone ingrowth.
In February 2006, Amedica got FDA clearance for its Arx Ceramic Spinal Spacer System, which is used to make biocompatible implants based on the MC2 technology. These implants offer an alternative to other synthetic and allograft bone implants used for the restoration of spinal anatomy — a market segment estimated at $600 million in the U.S. alone. Shortly after the Arx clearance, Amedica completed its last round of financing, a Series C worth $16.8 million.
Amedica plans to go live with three spinal products in 2008: Ceramic Intervertebral Spacers for spinal fixation, a Cervical Plate System for supplemental fixation of the cervical spine, and a Pedicle Screw System for supplemental fixation of the lumbar spine. It has additional spine and joint products in the pipeline.