SpineOvations Names M. Ross Simmonds Chief Executive Officer

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SpineOvations, a San Diego-based medical technology company focused on the development of new and innovative products, announced today that it has named M. Ross Simmonds its Chief Executive Officer and Board Member.

Simmonds brings to SpineOvations twenty-nine years of experience in the health care and medical device industry, with an emphasis on spine and orthopedics. He reached an agreement with the company on September 7^th of this year, and assumed CEO and Board duties earlier this month.

Simmonds’ executive experience includes work with a number of innovative spine and orthopedic companies, including serving as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Sales and Distribution for Interpore Cross International. No stranger to the clinical community, he has also served as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President for Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s Hospitals.

SpineOvations is focused on the development of biocompatible injectables for the stabilization of spinal disc integrity and for other orthopedic applications, including non-surgical connective tissue repair. The company’s technology platform consists of a novel, non-surgical application for identifying and treating spinal disc tears or fissures to seal and stabilize the structural integrity of the spinal disc.

SpineOvation’s new treatment concept integrates the use of discography with the administration of the company’s DiscSeal™, an injectable agent for soft tissue engineering, designed to fill and seal the disc defect and provide internal disc stabilization and pain relief for the millions of patients with chronic back pain as a result of internal disc derangement (IDD). This innovative approach offers the potential to provide a cost-effective treatment option for patients with chronic back pain that will delay or possibly prevent the need for more invasive treatments such as surgery for spinal fusion or disc replacement.

“Ross is one of the industry’s premier executives and his business sense, executive leadership capabilities and extensive background in orthopedics and spine are what drew us to him,” said Stuart A. Young, M.D., SpineOvation’s President and Co-Founder. “His rich experience building aggressive marketing and business development teams, as well as his ability to attract lasting relationships with the world’s elite physicians and business partners make him a perfect match for us. On the global front, Ross, who is multilingual and has lived on three continents, also provides us unique global perspective. We’re very proud to have him as our leader.”

Young added that Simmonds will be in Austin next week (October 23^rd and 24^th) for the 22^nd annual meeting of the National American Spine Society (NASS), where he will be discussing the company’s technology with industry peers and some of the nation’s elite spine surgeons.

Simmonds’ career in the healthcare sector started with Johnson & Johnson and grew to his role serving as National Sales Manager for Kirschner Medical Corporation, and later Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing for a manufacturer of reconstructive hip implants.

When Simmonds arrived at Irvine-based Interpore in 1989, it was a small dental company. Over the next fifteen years, he helped build and manage the company’s orthopaedic business from its start through its successful acquisition by Biomet in 2004.

“The founders of SpineOvations have a technology we believe could be the holy grail of back pain relief,” said Simmonds. “They asked me to join them and once I saw the technology I could not say no. It’s a pleasure to join a company brimming with promise and poised to introduce technology that could have a major positive effect on the lives of millions.”

SpineOvations is a San Diego-based, privately held medical device company focused on the development of novel, biocompatible injectables for the stabilization of spinal disc integrity and for other orthopedic applications including non-surgical connective tissue repair. The company’s technology platform consists of a novel non-surgical application for identifying and treating spinal discs that have tears or fissures in order to seal the defect and improve structural integrity.

SpineOvation’s DiscSeal™ is a percutaneous injection treatment for patients with Internal Disc Derangement (IDD) and suffering from chronic, discogenic lower back pain. DiscSeal is designed to be an early-stage treatment for those patients who have failed conservative care and who are not yet candidates for the invasive surgical treatment options of total disc replacement or spinal fusion, the largest segment of the spine market. For more information, visit: http://www.spineovations.com/