Anika To Launch Six FDA-Cleared Sports Medicine and Extremities Products in Third Quarter of 2020

Innovative Products Designed to Meet Needs of Surgeons and their Patients in Joint Preservation and Restoration Procedures

BEDFORD, Mass., July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIK), a global, integrated joint preservation, restoration and regenerative solutions company with products across the orthopedic early intervention continuum of care, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance and the planned launch of multiple new product innovations that address the needs of orthopedic and sports medicine surgeons and their patients seeking to stay active by overcoming soft tissue damage. Six minimally invasive surgical devices and instruments have been cleared by the FDA to repair rotator cuffs, perform arthroscopic knee repairs and treat arthritis damage in the hand and wrist. The products will be commercialized through Anika’s recently expanded sales and marketing team throughout the third quarter of 2020 and mark the first products launched from the acquisitions of Parcus Medical and Arthrosurface, which were completed earlier this year.

“Anika has rapidly pivoted to become a dynamic, customer facing enterprise. The introduction of these innovative technologies is evidence that the Company is listening to its physician customers to identify surgeon and patient needs, and has the ability to develop, gain approvals for and launch a series of new devices and instruments, even during pandemic conditions,” said Cheryl R. Blanchard, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Anika. “Commercial success and growth in the sports medicine and joint preservation and restoration market demands an evolving understanding of unmet patient needs and the ability to translate surgeon feedback into designs that are both meaningful and practical for today’s minimally invasive surgical ecosystem. Anika is well positioned to launch these exciting innovations, and we look forward to introducing these new products to our growing customer base as COVID restrictions ease and elective procedures resume in the U.S.”

The new products include:

• Knotless AP Suture Anchors, a new family of knotless, drive-in suture anchors manufactured from a proprietary, bioabsorbable composite and available in four diameters. These products are used for rotator cuff repairs in the shoulder and tendon repairs in the foot and ankle.
• ATLAS, a more anatomical and less invasive arthroplasty solution to treat arthritis of the CMC joint (thumb).
• Synd-EZ Ti and Synd-EZ SS, knotless solutions to repair syndesmosis injuries in the ankle. These products are available in both titanium and stainless steel for compatibility with adjunctive fixation products.
• Twist PEEK SST, a suture anchor design incorporating fixed suture tapes to facilitate reproducible knotless double-row rotator cuff repair.
• 35 PEEK CF Push-In with Tape, a carbon fiber reinforced polymer anchor that incorporates high-strength suture tape to facilitate arthroscopic capsulolabral repairs of the shoulder.
• GFS BTB Link, a ligament retention device used with the GFS Ultimate suspensory fixation device to provide the option to utilize bone-tendon-bone grafts in ACL and PCL reconstruction.

“Consistent incremental improvements to techniques, tools and materials are critical in joint preservation surgery, allowing surgeons to continually refine ways to keep their patients active and comfortable,” said Anil S. Ranawat, M.D., Hospital for Special Surgery. “Having worked closely with the Anika team in recent years, I am impressed with their ability to identify clinical problems and provide real time solutions for us as practitioners. Their growing armamentarium of new tools is the most recent example of this commitment, and I look forward to putting them into practice.”