San Diego medical device company NuVasive (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUVA]]) said today it has purchased Rockaway, NJ-based Cervitech in a in cash and stock deal that could be worth as much as $80 million, if the FDA approves Cervitech’s cervical disc replacement device. NuVasive agreed to pay $47 million upfront and another $33 million depending on FDA approval following clinical trials scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
NuVasive is becoming acquisitive. In January, NuVasive made an initial equity investment in Progentix Orthobiology BV, a Dutch company developing calcium phosphate putty for use as a synthetic bone substitute.
NuVasive specializes in products for minimally disruptive spinal surgery. “The cervical disc replacement market will become one of the fastest growing segments in spine over the next several years as surgeons and patients choose motion preservation over traditional fusion,” NuVasive CEO Alex Lukianov said in a statement.
The market for spine implants in the United States has been estimated at $4.6 billion, according to NuVasive’s press release. NuVasive’s chief product is a biomedical system the company calls its maximum accesss surgery platform, which is used to minimize soft tissue disruption during spine surgery.