Synthes has setback in FDA panel backing of Medtronic spinal disk – report

ZURICH (Thomson Financial) – Synthes Inc has had a small setback in the US after a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended approval for Medtronic Inc’s Bryan Disk, a product competing with Synthes’s ProDisc, said a report in Swiss bi-weekly Finanz und Wirtschaft.
The Bryan Disk, a polyurethane and titanium implant to replace worn-out spinal disks, could be on the market by the beginning of 2008, said the report.
Medtronic is expected to see sales of around 200 mln usd by 2010, the report added.
On Monday, Medtronic won FDA approval for Prestige, a steel version of the disk.
Medtronic now has a headstart on Synthes, as FDA approval for Synthes’ Prodisc is not expected before the end of 2007 or beginning of 2008.
sarah.fenwick@thomson.com
ckj/hjp
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