Monday, September 8, 2008

Orthofix taps Vaters as new CFO

Orthopedic medical device firm Orthofix International NV appointed Robert Vaters to the position of executive vice president and chief financial officer. He replaces long-time CFO Tom Hein, who will now become the company’s executive vice president of finance.

Before joining the company, Vaters spent four years as CFO and head of strategy and corporate development at Caifornia-based medical device company Inamed Corp., now part of Allergan Inc.

Vaters also co-founded and was a general partner at a private equity firm focused on health care. Part of Vaters employment contact with Orthofix included an award of 150,000 stock options at an excise price of $22.05.

In 2006, Orthofix acquired Springfield-based spinal implant and instruments firm, Blackstone Medical Inc. for $333 million. Blackstone was founded in 1996.

In August, Orthofix announced it had inked a funding agreement with the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, a nonprofit consortium that is comprised of numerous academic medical institutions and organ and tissue recovery organizations. The agreement — funded through Orthofix milestone payments — calls for the MTF to complete the development and commercialization of a stem cell-based tissue graft for orthopedic surgeries. The new graft would be similar to a traditional autograft that uses donor bone tissue, but instead will use stem cells that develop into bone, officials said.

Orthofix International offers surgical, as well as nonsurgical, products for the spine, reconstruction and trauma market sectors that address lifelong bone-and-joint health needs of patients of all ages.

Orthofix drew $10.9 million in net profit in 2007 on $490 million in revenue. It reported a staff of 1,400 as of March 2008.