IlluminOss Medical is pioneering a percutaneous approach for repairing broken bones. There is very little disruption to the soft tissue surrounding the affected bone, which should lead to rapid patient recoveries.

A roundup of recent medtech strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions and financings.

A year ago at this time, a sale to another company was the last thing on the minds of senior executives at St. Francis Medical, one of the leading companies in dynamic stabilization. But interest by large spine companies put a halt to the company's plans to go public and led to an auction that was eventually won by Kyphon. Kyphon's acquisition of St. Francis Medical was one of the device industry's biggest deals in 2006--and just what everyone was waiting for.

The treatment of vertebral compression fractures has evolved into a $375 per year industry in the US, almost $500 million worldwide. It is controlled primarily by one company, Kyphon Inc., but there are many other companies offering less expensive vertobroplasty alternatives.