Kyphon plans to launch new products, expand pipeline in next 18 months

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Eugene, Ore., June 22 - Kyphon Inc. hopes to launch three new products and expand its product pipeline in three additional areas within the next 18 months, according to Julie Tracy, vice president of investor relations and corporate marketing for the company.

Kyphon plans to introduce a faster working formulation of its current bone cement and a directional bone-filling device in the fall, Tracy said at the Piper Jaffray London Health Care Conference on Thursday.

In the same timeframe, Kyphon also plans to introduce Latitude II Curette, a device it says physicians can use in conjunction with its current technology to scrape or core bone in the spine.

Kyphon's current technology, balloon Kyphoplasty, is used to correct spinal deformity and restore spinal function.

As the company is adding products to its portfolio, Kyphon will also focus on research and development in other areas of deformity correction, disc repair, disc regeneration and cancer therapy, Tracy said Thursday.

"We have a tremendous opportunity to expand our presence in treating cancer-related fractures as we go forward," she said.

Kyphon's technology is most commonly used in patients with compression fractures in the spine.

The company also believes its technology may be able to be used to treat additional types of spinal injuries including fractures that are older, chronic or healed, Tracy said.

Kyphon is interested in expanding into providing cancer therapy by developing a way to deliver cancer treatments while performing the balloon Kyphoplasty technology on cancer patients, Tracy said.

While working to develop and commercialize new products, Kyphon also plans to expand its global reach, and has a particular focus on gaining approval for its Kyphoplasty technology in Japan, Tracy said.

"Japan represents a tremendous opportunity for the company and one that we don't sell into today at all," Tracy said.

Before the company can commercialize in Japan, Kyphon must enroll 81 patients in a clinical registry trial and study them for two years, Tracy said.

Kyphon currently has 20 patients enrolled in the trial and expects to complete enrollment by the end of the year, she said.

The company hopes to commercialize its products in Japan in 2009.

Kyphon also plans to launch a new procedure, functional anesthetic discography, in the United States in the next few months. The procedure is a novel method for diagnosing lower back pain that is already cleared by the Food and Drug Administration.

Located in Sunnydale, Calif., Kyphon develops and markets medical devices designed to restore spinal function using minimally invasive technologies.

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