Misonix, Inc., of Farmington, New York, manufacturer of the Misonix BoneScalpel, an ultrasonic bone cutting system, has terminated its distribution agreement with Aesculap, Inc. Since January 2011, Aesculap has been a non-exclusive, private label distributor of the BoneScalpel in the United States for clinical applications in spine and cranial surgery.
Under the non-exclusive distribution agreement, Aesculap retains the right to sell BoneScalpel disposables to certain, limited hospital accounts, which are covered by binding supply agreements for varying periods of time, but not to exceed three years. An additional aspect of the cancellation requires Misonix to purchase all hardware inventory in Aesculap’s possession.
Misonix officials say that the firm is committed to selling its products under its own label via its own proprietary sales organization. It has trained upwards of 40 independent sales agencies, with more than 200 salespeople, to market its BoneScalpel product line to neurosurgeons, spine surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and cranio-maxillofacial surgeons.
The BoneScalpel is described as an ultrasonic osteotome used for safe tissue-selective bone dissection that encourages en-bloc bone removal and refined osteotomies while sparing elastic soft tissue structures. Developers of the product say that the surgical field is relatively bloodless and clean and loss of viable bone is minimal and controllable. The BoneScalpel has been used for bone removal in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, including deformity surgery, as well as a variety of ‘skull based’ surgical procedures.
In reference to the termination, Michael A. McManus, Jr., president and CEO of Misonix, said, “We are grateful to Aesculap for its contributions, to date, to our sales success in the USA. We look forward to maintaining the fine relationship established between our companies as we move through a transition period toward direct control of our destiny via our own direct distribution channel. This decision by Misonix is a continuation of our strategy to be focused on our own unique products, to determine and manage our own strategic direction, to completely guide new product line extensions and to ensure complete dedication to the skills development of our BoneScalpel surgeons.”
