BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD COMPANIES TO REIMBURSE SBi's STAR™ TOTAL ANKLE REPLACEMENT SYSTEM
NEW YORK, NY: March 23, 2011 –Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBi) announced today that 38 of the 39 independent member companies of the BlueCross and BlueShield Association will cover SBi's STAR™ Total Ankle Replacement system to benefit an estimated 98.5 million insured in 49 states.
SBi is an orthopedics company focused exclusively on serving patients and their physicians with technologies and treatments for joint replacement (arthroplasty) and post-traumatic reconstruction of the small bones & joints of the thumb, fingers, hand, wrist, elbow, toes, foot and ankle.
According to SBi, more than 90 percent of the approximately 175 million members of commercial insurance plans in the U.S. now have access to the STAR ankle replacement surgery, when deemed clinically appropriate by experienced surgeons.
"The STAR ankle is the first and only total ankle replacement system to have performed successfully in the FDA's rigorous pre-market approval (PMA) process," said James A. Nunley II, MD¹, Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. "The compelling clinical data from the prospective, multi-center U.S. Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) STAR Ankle clinical trial, initiated in 2000, has been instrumental in the current stream of favorable coverage decisions by insurers as well as independent non-profit health care institutions." Dr. Nunley is a clinical investigator in the STAR clinical trials who has assisted in SBi's effort to benefit patients by changes in reimbursement policies.
"The STAR ankle is the only total ankle replacement indicated for use as a 'non-cemented' implant to replace painful ankle joints affected by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and post-traumatic arthritis. In the IDE clinical trials, the STAR ankle was deemed superior in efficacy and comparable in safety when compared to fusion, for treating ankle arthritis." Dr. Nunley added.
¹Dr. Nunley is paid consultant to SBi - providing education services.
Click here for access to sites of the 38 regional BlueCross BlueShield regional sites
About Small Bone Innovations, Inc.
Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBi) was founded in 2004 by Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC (VB), a New York-based merchant banking firm that specializes in the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector. VB created SBi as the first company to focus purely on small bones & joints. By integrating established companies and professionals in the field, SBi offers a broad, clinically proven portfolio of products and technologies to treat trauma and diseases in small bones & joints. Today, SBi has facilities in New York, NY, Morrisville, PA, Bourg-en-Bresse, France, Donaueschingen, Germany, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has sold its products in 46 countries. For more information on SBi, please visit: www.totalsmallbone.com
Forward-looking statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties impacting SBi’s business including increased competition; the ability of SBi to expand its operations and to attract and retain qualified professionals; technological obsolescence; general economic conditions; and other risks.