Olympia Medical Center Neurosurgeon Performs First Patient Procedure Using Adult Stem Cells for Degenerative Spine Disease

Online, October 8, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Director of Research and Education at Olympia Medical Center Los Angeles, Neurosurgeon, Carl Lauryssen, M.D., completed the first procedure using Alphatec Spine's Osteoprogenitor cell, PureGen, a highly concentrated, pure population of adult stem cells that originates in bone marrow and is collected from live, healthy donors for optimal cell functionality.

Dr. Lauryssen has twice been awarded the Young Investigator Award from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons for his work on cervical disorders and stem cell research. The patient underwent a L4-S1 posterolateral fusion. "I believe in the promise of stem cells for treating spinal disorders as they pose minimal inflammatory side effects and have the capacity to repair and regenerate bone. I believe the PureGen cell has the potential for providing surgeons with better clinical outcomes in spinal fusion," stated Dr. Lauryssen.

Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATEC), the parent company of Alphatec Spine, Inc., is a medical device company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets products for the surgical treatment of spine disorders, with a focus on treating conditions related to the aging spine. PureGen is a highly concentrated, pure population of adult stem cells that originates in bone marrow and is collected from live, healthy donors for optimal cell functionality. Unlike current commercially available stem cell products with an unknown population of adult stem cells and harvested from cadaveric donor tissue, PureGen delivers a similar potency of a pure adult stem cell without the need for cultural expansion. Up until now, there was no available pure adult stem cell on the market.

The PureGen osteoprogenitor cell allograft facilitates bone fusion, and is marketed exclusively by Alphatec Spine. PureGen is an adult stem cell that provides the osteogenic factors needed for bone remodeling without the potential complications of autograft. Applied at the site of a musculoskeletal defect, PureGen mimics the regenerative environment of youthful tissues by increasing the concentration of stem cells available to repair tissue and build bone.