The First Workshop on Active Implantable Medical Devices took place at in Punta del Este, Uruguay last Friday (March 1st 2024) as part of the LASCAS 2024 meeting.
Category Archives: Greatbatch
SCS Company Nuvectra Filed for Bankruptcy
Image Credit: Nuvectra
Back in 2013, implantable-grade component manufacturer Greatbatch Medical (now Integer Holdings) briefly entered the finished devices market with its own Algostim Spinal Cord Stimulator.
However, when Greatbatch acquired CCC Medical in 2014, having the Algostim SCS was seen as a conflict of interest by some of CCC’s SCS customers (e.g. Nevro), so in 2015/2016 Greatbatch divested its SCS business into a new company called Nuvectra.
Nuvectra never caused much of an impact in the SCS market, and trailed well behind Abbott, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Nevro. After limping along for a number of years, on November 12, 2019, Nuvectra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
James Cavuoto, Editor and Publisher of Neurotech Reports, wrote about possible reasons for Nuvectra’s failure:
“… Some critics of Nuvectra have cited management problems and quality control issues with its Algovita device as factors leading to the filing. Fred Parks, a medical device industry veteran with little experience in the SCS market, took over for founding CEO Scott Drees in January. Others have pointed to problems managing the company’s suppliers and an overly burdensome agreement Greatbatch required as part of the spinoff. …” [2019]
Greatbatch Submits Application for CE Mark for its SCS System
On January 20, 2014, Mass Device reported that Greatbatch filed a CE Mark application for its spinal cord stimulation system with German notified body TÜV SÜD America. The spinal cord stimulation system comes from Greatbatch’s subsidiary, QiG Group. The company also applied for pre-market approval last month.
Algostim – Greatbatch’s Own Spinal Cord Stimulation System
Greatbatch Medical, which moved its headquarters to the Dallas, TX area last year, announced that it has set a target of at least 5%/yr organic growth. To accomplish this growth, the Company recently announced consolidating operations of its various divisions in order to create efficiency.
In addition however, Greatbatch is diversifying from being strictly a developer of implantable-grade components into a firm capable of developing complete medical devices. Greatbatch’s CEO Thomas Hook announced in March 2013 that Greatbatch is internally developing its own spinal cord stimulation system. The device, called Algostim, is nearing completion of development and will be moving into the commercialization phase. The company is looking for a partner to take the Algostim device into the $1.4 billion spinal cord stimulation market, which has been growing at more than 10%/yr.
Click here for an extract describing Algostim from Greatbatch’s investor day of March 2013.