Posted on April - 22 - 2010

Verilast knee wins FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Smith & Nephew to market a 30-year artificial knee.

The Memphis Orthopaedics Division said Thursday its Verilast technology, when used on Legion brand knee replacement, achieved an 81 percent reduction in wear during a simulation of 30 years of physical activity. The FDA clearance enables the company to expand claims for a product previously touted as offering reduced wear.

“Physically active patients want to end their knee pain for good,” said Joseph M. DeVivo, president of Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics. “We’re working to make knee implants that last a lifetime — that’s our goal, and we’ve validated Verilast technology out to 30 years for a market that views 10 to 15 years as the gold standard.”

Verilast combines Smith & Nephew’s Oxinium brand metal alloy with a crosslinked polyethylene material called XLPE.

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