500th Spinal Fusion Performed with Benvenue Medical’s Luna® 3D Interbody Fusion System

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Benvenue Medical, Inc., a developer of minimally invasive solutions for spine repair, today announced that more than 500 patients have been treated with the company’s Luna^® 3D Interbody Fusion System. The 500^th case was performed by Richard Fessler, M.D., Ph.D., of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

“The Luna System is an important advancement in spinal fusion,” Dr. Fessler said. “Because Luna provides a less invasive approach to traditional lumbar spinal fusion, I can minimize tissue retraction and resection while ensuring that my patients’ neural structures are protected and the interbody footprint is maximized. I’m very satisfied with the results I’ve been able to achieve for my patients using Luna.”

Dr. Fessler will be sharing his experience with Luna in two upcoming presentations:

• “Luna 3D: A Novel Multi-Expandable Interbody Implant for Lumbar Fusion” on Friday, July 1 at the Spine Technology and Educational Group Organization (STEG) 13^th Annual Symposium in Los Cabos, Mexico.
• “Multi-Expandable, ALIF-Sized Implant for TLIF Procedures” on Thursday, July 14 at the Scoliosis Research Society’s 23rd International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST) in Washington, D.C.

The Luna System was also recently recognized with the Gold Award in the Implant and Tissue-Replacement category in the 2016Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA).

The Gold MDEA Award that the Luna System received was sponsored by Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry (MDDI). The MDEAs recognize the technological achievements of medical device manufacturers, honoring innovation across nine categories.

“With this award, we now have back-to-back wins recognizing us for our design excellence,” said Robert K. Weigle, CEO of Benvenue Medical. “Though we faced stiff competition from neural and cardiac devices, Luna received the highest award in the Implant and Tissue-Replacement category, recognizing design novelty and elegance, as well as its beneficial impact to patients, doctors and the healthcare system. We continue to be very excited about our commercial growth and sales trajectory with Luna.” The Kiva^® VCF Treatment System won the same award in the 2015 competition.

About the Luna 3D Interbody Fusion System
The Luna 3D Interbody Fusion System is designed to provide one of the largest yet least invasive devices for posterior lumbar interbody spinal fusion. Cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November 2014, the Luna 3D System is comprised of a PEEK implant designed to expand in multiple dimensions within the disc space, first in footprint and secondarily in height, allowing surgeons to effectively restore height via a posterior approach while providing the stability of a larger construct more often associated with an anterior approach. After a discectomy is performed, the Luna 3D Implant is delivered through a small diameter cannula into the disc space. After expanding its footprint, it is then expanded in height with the insertion of a middle section. When the cannula is removed, bone graft is placed in the middle of the implant and the implant is locked in place with a locking wire.

About Benvenue Medical, Inc.
Founded in 2004, Benvenue Medical, Inc. provides next generation minimally invasive systems for spine repair that combine expandable implants with novel delivery instruments to provide enduring functional benefits for patients. The company is privately held and funded by InterWest Partners, Versant Ventures, DeNovo Ventures, Domain Associates, Esquilime Partners and Technology Partners. Its first products are designed for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures and degenerative disc disease, which have combined revenues of $9 billion globally. For more information, visit www.benvenuemedical.com.