CARLSBAD, Calif., April 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Alphatec Spine, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATEC), and a provider of spinal fusion technologies, announced today the addition of two new sales executives with proven track records in the spine industry, naming James (Jim) Duffy as Area Vice President, U.S. Sales, South, and Greg Rhinehart as Area Vice President, U.S. Sales, East.  Drawing on their deep commercial spine experience, Messrs. Duffy and Rhinehart will be responsible for expanding the Company’s presence in the Southern and Eastern United States, respectively, including continuing to build dedicated sales agent relationships, targeting new customer and market opportunities, and providing service and support for existing surgeon customers.

“I’m excited to welcome Jim and Greg to the Alphatec family as we continue to build out a strong sales leadership team that is focused on driving sustainable growth and improving patient outcomes,” said Terry Rich, Alphatec Spine’s Chief Executive Officer. “Jim and Greg bring tremendous track records to Alphatec and they will be instrumental in recruiting and developing top distributors and sales talent to deepen our engagement with surgeons and build greater awareness and adoption of our differentiated products.  I look forward to working with both leaders as we accelerate our sales strategy and aggressively work to become the fastest growing company in spine.”

Jim Duffy Named AVP Sales, South Region

Mr. Duffy brings over 25 years of progressive spine and orthopedic sales leadership experience to Alphatec, including a proven history of building strong distributor relationships and dedicated distribution channels.  Mr. Duffy joins Alphatec from Zimmer Biomet Spine, where he was the Sales Vice President for the East region of the United States following Zimmer’s merger with Biomet, and was responsible for the strategic integration and management of the distribution channel.   Prior to Zimmer Biomet, Mr. Duffy served as the Area Vice President of Sales for Zimmer Spine.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Duffy served in a number of district and regional sales leadership roles, including at KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America, Medtronic Spinal and Biologics, and at Synthes Spine.

Mr. Duffy holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Westfield State University.

Greg Rhinehart Named AVP Sales, East Region

With over two decades of spine and orthopedic sales leadership experience, Mr. Rhinehart brings significant expertise to Alphatec in developing high-performing sales organizations, and driving expansion and revenue growth.  Prior to joining Alphatec, Mr. Rhinehart was the Vice President of Sales at Medicrea.  Before that, Mr. Rhinehart held senior sales leadership roles at Globus Medical, Inc., where he most recently served as the Vice President of Sales for the Central U.S. region—a position he held for nine years.  Under his leadership at Globus, Mr. Rhinehart successfully built a new sales organization to continue Globus’ expansion in the Central U.S., significantly growing annual revenues.  Prior to joining Globus, Mr. Rhinehart held multiple sales leadership roles in spine and orthopedics at DePuy Spine, Medtronic, Sulzer-Spinetech and DePuy Orthotech.

Mr. Rhinehart holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Ohio State University.

Inducement Awards Granted

As an inducement to entering into employment with the Company and in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) under Alphatec Holdings Inc.’s 2016 Employment Inducement Award Plan (the “Plan”), on March 30, 2017, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Alphatec Holdings, Inc. approved the following inducement awards:

• Mr. Duffy: 25,000 restricted stock units (RSUs) and an option to purchase 25,000 shares of common stock.
• Mr. Rhinehart: 25,000 restricted stock units (RSUs) and an option to purchase 25,000 shares of common stock.

The RSUs and stock options were granted pursuant to the Plan.  Collectively, the RSUs and options were granted as inducements material to the new employees entering into employment with Alphatec in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

The RSUs will vest in equal installments annually over four years on each of the first four anniversaries of the first date of employment, which was March 31, 2017 for Mr. Rhinehart and April 4, 2017 for Mr. Duffy, assuming in each case the employee remains continuously employed by Alphatec as of such vesting date. In addition, the RSUs will fully vest upon a change in control of Alphatec.

The stock options will have an exercise price equal to the closing price per share of Alphatec’s common stock as reported by NASDAQ on the date of grant (the first date of employment). The stock options will vest over four years, with 25% of the options vesting on the first anniversary of the date of grant and the remainder of the options vesting monthly over the subsequent three years, assuming in each case the employee remains continuously employed by Alphatec as of such vesting date. In addition, the options will fully vest upon a change in control of Alphatec.

Alphatec is providing this information in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

About Alphatec Spine

Alphatec Spine, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphatec Holdings, Inc., is a medical device company that designs, develops and markets spinal fusion technology products and solutions for the treatment of spinal disorders associated with disease and degeneration, congenital deformities and trauma. The Company’s mission is to improve lives by delivering advancements in spinal fusion technologies. The Company markets products in the U.S. via independent sales agents and a direct sales force.

Additional information can be found at www.alphatecspine.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainty. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Alphatec Spine cautions investors that there can be no assurance that actual results or business conditions will not differ materially from those projected or suggested in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.  Forward-looking statements include the Company’s ability to successfully expand in certain geographic regions, launch new products, deepen surgeon engagement, build brand awareness and accelerate growth. The words “believe,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate” and “anticipate,” variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement.  The important factors that could cause actual operating results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:  the uncertainties in the Company’s ability to execute upon its strategic operating plan; the uncertainty of success in launching new products and developing new products or products currently in the Company’s pipeline; the failure to achieve acceptance of the Company’s products by the surgeon community; continuation of favorable third party payor reimbursement for procedures performed using the Company’s products; the Company’s ability to compete with other competing products and with emerging new technologies; and the Company’s ability to meet its financial obligations under its credit agreements and the Orthotec settlement agreement.  Please refer to the risks detailed from time to time in Alphatec Holdings’ SEC reports, including its Annual Report Form 10-K, as well as its other filings on Form 10-Q and periodic filings on Form 8-K.  Alphatec Spine disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, unless required by law.

CONTACT: Investor/Media Contact:

Christine Zedelmayer
Investor Relations
Alphatec Spine, Inc.
(760) 494-6610
czedelmayer@alphatecspine.com

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., April 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC, a medical device company with long-standing expertise in applying biocompatible surface treatments to orthopaedic implants, announced today a new warranty program on its established portfolio of surface-enhanced interbodies for spinal fusion. This warranty announcement coincides with the launch of the TSpace^®XP interbody system, treated with Plasmapore^XP surface enhancing technology. The warranty offers participating facilities a device replacement in the instance of a reoperation because of clinically-relevant delamination or the generation of impaction debris or a CT or MRI artifact caused by the device that impedes a physician’s ability to visualize adjacent anatomy. This is the first facility risk-share agreement on a titanium-enhanced PEEK interbody in the spine industry warranting against both delamination of a surface enhancement and the ability to visualize an implant without artifact.

This new Aesculap warranty on Plasmapore^XP devices differentiates the technology from other manufacturers who have less widely studied surface coated or otherwise enhanced spinal fusion interbodies. The current U.S. spine market favors PEEK, a medical grade plastic, for fusion. However, PEEK alone may lack the biocompatible characteristics necessary to stimulate a lasting fusion. For this reason, some spinal implant manufacturers are going back to all titanium implants; however, this structural material may create intraoperative and postoperative visualization issues which may jeopardize the safety profile for patients.

Aesculap began developing its expertise in surface enhancements with its BiContact™ Universal Hip System in 1986 and was first to the U.S. spine device market with surface-enhanced PEEK-OPTIMA^®* interbodies for spinal fusion applications. Aesculap’s experience, with more than 20,000 Plasmapore^XP devices implanted to date plus results from over 20 clinical studies, provided the foundation to offer the device warranty.

According to Chuck DiNardo, President of Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC, “In the consumer market, if a product does not meet expectations, the purchaser expects a money-back type of guarantee. This has not been the norm in the device market. We created a program to demonstrate to healthcare providers that we believe in our product, our clinical data and our long-standing experience and ultimately share their goal of a lasting treatment for their patients’ chronic back issues.”

As a forerunner in surface enhancing technology, Aesculap’s proprietary process applies a pure titanium surface that is porous, osteoconductive and biocompatible to the core of each Plasmapore^XP implant on the top, bottom and lateral surfaces. Based on the global success of this surface enhancing technology, Aesculap has developed a full portfolio of Plasmapore^XP devices like the newest TSpace interbody to address a variety of degenerative spinal indications and approaches.

About Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC
Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC, a B. Braun company, is part of a 175-year-old global organization focused on meeting the needs of the changing healthcare environment. Through close collaboration with its customers, Aesculap Implant Systems develops advanced spine and orthopaedic implant technologies to treat complex disorders of the spine, hip and knee. Aesculap Implant Systems strives to deliver products and services that improve the quality of patients’ lives. For more information, call 800-234-9179 or visit aesculapimplantsystems.com/xp.

*PEEK-OPTIMA is a registered trademark of Invibio Limited.

SOURCE Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC