Copy to clipboard 
Spinal Elements has new leadership and a fresh pipeline of products that it believes will help the company grow its market share in the spine industry.
Ron Loyd, a veteran medical device and biologics executive, joined Spinal Elements as CEO in February 2023, taking the helm from Founder Jason Blain. Mr. Loyd said that Spinal Elements’ product portfolio initially attracted him to the largest private company in the spine space.
“I had a chance to look at the company from a portfolio standpoint. I was impressed by the number of products that were brought to market but, more importantly, the pipeline that we could launch in 2023 and 2024,” Mr. Loyd said. “Also, I felt that my experience scaling businesses could help us gain the greater market share that these products warrant. We want to grow by building stronger, better teams within the company and external collaborations. That’s what we’re embarking on, and we’re off to a good start.”
In October, we spoke with Mr. Loyd and Chief Marketing Officer Rich Simmons and asked about new products and market trends. Since our conversation, the company has launched its Ventana 3D-printed interbody portfolio.
Our conversation is excerpted below and edited for length and clarity.
What new products can we expect in the next few years?
Mr. Loyd: We’re in the midst of launching six products. We have a number of new interbody products, both expandable and static. We have one of the largest, most comprehensive interbody portfolios, and that’s based on the number of different devices, the materials that we use for those devices, and the ability to expand as well as steer expansion.
When we think about the patient type, our portfolio lines up well with the TLIF, which is the largest surgical procedure for the spine. We provide a wide variety of solutions for the surgeon, so they can match the interbody to that patient.
Mr. Simmons: Though a lot of companies participate in the TLIF market, we think there is an opportunity for education and training on the operation to make it more efficient and less tedious. Specifically, the management of the sequential part of the operation from safe, reproducible access to efficient disc prep.
Our device, Orbit, is the first and only in the market that allows a linear sweep of the whole disc space with a mechanical device. Then, we have the ability to steer and refine the placement of the interbody. We also like the opportunity that these devices provide to reconstruct the spine. It’s about height restoration and sagittal balance — the size of the footprint matters.
Of course, that efficiency is important when moving to the ambulatory setting. There is a lot of whitespace in the ASC market for us. Our current products create an elegant and efficient TLIF operation and position us to participate in the endoscopic and navigated space. We’re setting up the company to tell all of those hardware stories.
Spinal Elements launched its Ventana interbody implants in November. The portfolio features an implant architecture designed to maximize bone graft volume and containment through a specialized 3D printing process, which also minimizes the amount of titanium used to improve radiographic visualization.
How much of your sales are in the ASC space, and what opportunities do you see for the future?
Mr. Simmons: We’re at market average in the 8% to 10% range. The hospital-run ASC market is ramping up the fastest. Hospitals have figured out the value of not fighting with the community-based ASCs and are embracing the segregation of their low-demand patient populations to the ASC.
The shift makes it attractive for a smaller company like ours because we have the laser focus to develop a suite of technology that takes up a smaller footprint. A lot of our competitors rely on trays and trays of instruments. We’re trying to get everything we design into a singular tray or singular implant so that it doesn’t burden the facility with a lot of equipment. We act like a nine-figure startup. We’re highly flexible and aren’t beholden to some of these larger hospital franchises, which allows us to participate in the ASC marketplace much more easily.
You mentioned navigation. What are your thoughts on the state and future of enabling technology in spine?
Mr. Loyd: We have products that are compatible with navigation systems, but we’re not making investments in developing our own navigation or robotic systems today. We think that over time, these systems will become more product-agnostic and less product-specific. We’re focusing on procedural solutions through differentiated technologies that improve patient outcomes and targeting the ambulatory surgery center space.
Mr. Simmons: We hope our patience pays off. Augmented reality, standard CT-based navigation and robotics are all changing rapidly. We would like to see the space move beyond pedicle screw guides to technology that manages hard tissue and soft tissue and provides better access. Today’s enabling technology market is one-dimensional. While companies are moving in the direction of being able to manage different work streams in the fusion operation, it feels like there are a lot of steps missing.
What other major trends are you seeing in the spine space?
Mr. Simmons: We meet with a lot of different companies and see a lot of novel technologies because we’re in the unique position of being private equity financed. A significant trend is the emergence of predictive analytics and elegant data capture capabilities that will help surgeons better define their value proposition to payors. Surgeons are spending a lot of time defending their surgical decisions to payor networks.
We’re watching how the AI and predictive analytics markets will evolve. I don’t know if we’ll ever participate in the space, but it is an area where physicians are looking for efficiencies because their time is being stretched. There are so many disparate stakeholders that could use that type of technology.
What are a few of the company’s goals over the next year?
Mr. Loyd: We’ve made minor changes to improve the productivity and efficiency of the organization, and those will continue to be implemented throughout 2024. The company was built by a very successful founder who brought a lot of new technology to the market. Founder-led organizations get to a point where they plateau because the leadership may not have had the experience or understanding of operational best practices from other businesses. I’m able to bring that perspective, and I’ve implemented a number of internal processes and best practices that will drive greater efficiency and productivity, as well as employee engagement.
Any thoughts on going public?
Mr. Loyd: Sure. We’re in an excellent position in that we have strong support from our private equity partners, Kohlberg & Company. They invested in Spinal Elements in 2016 and are long on the company. They want to continue to make investments to help us grow and scale to be even more successful. But if the markets opened up, were conducive to an IPO and we wanted to bring in additional capital to take advantage of business development opportunities, it could be an option. However, we’re in an excellent position where we don’t have to do that to be successful.
Spinal Elements has new leadership and a fresh pipeline of products that it believes will help the company grow its market share in the spine industry.
Ron Loyd, a veteran medical device and biologics executive, joined Spinal Elements as CEO in February 2023, taking the helm from Founder Jason Blain. Mr. Loyd said that Spinal...
Spinal Elements has new leadership and a fresh pipeline of products that it believes will help the company grow its market share in the spine industry.
Ron Loyd, a veteran medical device and biologics executive, joined Spinal Elements as CEO in February 2023, taking the helm from Founder Jason Blain. Mr. Loyd said that Spinal Elements’ product portfolio initially attracted him to the largest private company in the spine space.
“I had a chance to look at the company from a portfolio standpoint. I was impressed by the number of products that were brought to market but, more importantly, the pipeline that we could launch in 2023 and 2024,” Mr. Loyd said. “Also, I felt that my experience scaling businesses could help us gain the greater market share that these products warrant. We want to grow by building stronger, better teams within the company and external collaborations. That’s what we’re embarking on, and we’re off to a good start.”
In October, we spoke with Mr. Loyd and Chief Marketing Officer Rich Simmons and asked about new products and market trends. Since our conversation, the company has launched its Ventana 3D-printed interbody portfolio.
Our conversation is excerpted below and edited for length and clarity.
What new products can we expect in the next few years?
Mr. Loyd: We’re in the midst of launching six products. We have a number of new interbody products, both expandable and static. We have one of the largest, most comprehensive interbody portfolios, and that’s based on the number of different devices, the materials that we use for those devices, and the ability to expand as well as steer expansion.
When we think about the patient type, our portfolio lines up well with the TLIF, which is the largest surgical procedure for the spine. We provide a wide variety of solutions for the surgeon, so they can match the interbody to that patient.
Mr. Simmons: Though a lot of companies participate in the TLIF market, we think there is an opportunity for education and training on the operation to make it more efficient and less tedious. Specifically, the management of the sequential part of the operation from safe, reproducible access to efficient disc prep.
Our device, Orbit, is the first and only in the market that allows a linear sweep of the whole disc space with a mechanical device. Then, we have the ability to steer and refine the placement of the interbody. We also like the opportunity that these devices provide to reconstruct the spine. It’s about height restoration and sagittal balance — the size of the footprint matters.
Of course, that efficiency is important when moving to the ambulatory setting. There is a lot of whitespace in the ASC market for us. Our current products create an elegant and efficient TLIF operation and position us to participate in the endoscopic and navigated space. We’re setting up the company to tell all of those hardware stories.
Spinal Elements launched its Ventana interbody implants in November. The portfolio features an implant architecture designed to maximize bone graft volume and containment through a specialized 3D printing process, which also minimizes the amount of titanium used to improve radiographic visualization.
How much of your sales are in the ASC space, and what opportunities do you see for the future?
Mr. Simmons: We’re at market average in the 8% to 10% range. The hospital-run ASC market is ramping up the fastest. Hospitals have figured out the value of not fighting with the community-based ASCs and are embracing the segregation of their low-demand patient populations to the ASC.
The shift makes it attractive for a smaller company like ours because we have the laser focus to develop a suite of technology that takes up a smaller footprint. A lot of our competitors rely on trays and trays of instruments. We’re trying to get everything we design into a singular tray or singular implant so that it doesn’t burden the facility with a lot of equipment. We act like a nine-figure startup. We’re highly flexible and aren’t beholden to some of these larger hospital franchises, which allows us to participate in the ASC marketplace much more easily.
You mentioned navigation. What are your thoughts on the state and future of enabling technology in spine?
Mr. Loyd: We have products that are compatible with navigation systems, but we’re not making investments in developing our own navigation or robotic systems today. We think that over time, these systems will become more product-agnostic and less product-specific. We’re focusing on procedural solutions through differentiated technologies that improve patient outcomes and targeting the ambulatory surgery center space.
Mr. Simmons: We hope our patience pays off. Augmented reality, standard CT-based navigation and robotics are all changing rapidly. We would like to see the space move beyond pedicle screw guides to technology that manages hard tissue and soft tissue and provides better access. Today’s enabling technology market is one-dimensional. While companies are moving in the direction of being able to manage different work streams in the fusion operation, it feels like there are a lot of steps missing.
What other major trends are you seeing in the spine space?
Mr. Simmons: We meet with a lot of different companies and see a lot of novel technologies because we’re in the unique position of being private equity financed. A significant trend is the emergence of predictive analytics and elegant data capture capabilities that will help surgeons better define their value proposition to payors. Surgeons are spending a lot of time defending their surgical decisions to payor networks.
We’re watching how the AI and predictive analytics markets will evolve. I don’t know if we’ll ever participate in the space, but it is an area where physicians are looking for efficiencies because their time is being stretched. There are so many disparate stakeholders that could use that type of technology.
What are a few of the company’s goals over the next year?
Mr. Loyd: We’ve made minor changes to improve the productivity and efficiency of the organization, and those will continue to be implemented throughout 2024. The company was built by a very successful founder who brought a lot of new technology to the market. Founder-led organizations get to a point where they plateau because the leadership may not have had the experience or understanding of operational best practices from other businesses. I’m able to bring that perspective, and I’ve implemented a number of internal processes and best practices that will drive greater efficiency and productivity, as well as employee engagement.
Any thoughts on going public?
Mr. Loyd: Sure. We’re in an excellent position in that we have strong support from our private equity partners, Kohlberg & Company. They invested in Spinal Elements in 2016 and are long on the company. They want to continue to make investments to help us grow and scale to be even more successful. But if the markets opened up, were conducive to an IPO and we wanted to bring in additional capital to take advantage of business development opportunities, it could be an option. However, we’re in an excellent position where we don’t have to do that to be successful.
You’ve reached your limit.
We’re glad you’re finding value in our content — and we’d love for you to keep going.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to orthopedic business intelligence.
CL
Carolyn LaWell is ORTHOWORLD's Chief Content Officer. She joined ORTHOWORLD in 2012 to oversee its editorial and industry education. She previously served in editor roles at B2B magazines and newspapers.
