Shoulder Innovations, Inc. (NYSE: SI), a company focused on transforming the shoulder surgical care market, has entered into an exclusive collaboration with ALM Ortho, Inc., a manufacturer of titanium orthopedic implants produced through additive manufacturing (AM).
The partnership introduces a patient-specific implant designed for severe shoulder deformity and other complex revision cases that currently lack an adequate treatment option, addressing a gap in the shoulder surgical care market that neither company’s existing offerings cover on their own.
Under the agreement, Shoulder Innovations holds exclusive US rights for upper extremity applications of ALM Ortho’s technology. Shoulder Innovations will use its surgeon network and sales organization to identify suitable cases and connect surgical teams with the ALM Ortho solution, while ALM Ortho will handle the design, manufacturing, and delivery of the devices.
Patient-Specific Design Process
ALM Ortho’s implants are built on a case-by-case basis, using patient imaging data to design devices matched to individual anatomy before delivering them to surgical teams for implantation.
Rob Ball, CEO of Shoulder Innovations, said the collaboration “bolsters our broader array of offerings to the shoulder surgical care market” and addresses “a real unmet need for patients and surgeons facing these complex cases.” He added that the company expects the new capability to “drive improved patient outcomes and yield strategic advantages for SI as our commercial engine continues to grow.”
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Broader Landscape: Patient-Specific Solutions for Complex Shoulder Cases
The Shoulder Innovations-ALM Ortho partnership responds to how severe shoulder deformity and complex revision cases have no adequate implant option, since standard, off-the-shelf devices can’t be matched closely enough to the patient’s anatomy to deliver a viable outcome. Other efforts in orthopedic AM have worked toward closing that kind of treatment gap, even where the specifics differ.
Back in 2019, LimaCorporate opened an on-site AM facility for custom complex orthopedic implants at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), producing patient-specific implants for cases where standard sizing doesn’t fit the patient’s anatomy. That shares the core gap the ALM Ortho deal addresses, though it covers general orthopedic conditions instead of shoulder cases specifically, and runs through an in-house hospital facility instead of an exclusive supply agreement between two device companies.
In India, a 3D printed titanium implant reconstructed a cancer patient’s chest bone and ribs at Manipal Hospitals after standard treatment offered no viable path forward. The case matches a bespoke AM implant stepping in where no adequate off-the-shelf solution exists, but it involves a single surgical case instead of a commercial partnership, addressing a different anatomical area entirely.
Both examples show AM repeatedly closing treatment gaps that standard implants leave open, though neither carries the shoulder-specific, company-to-company supply structure central to the Shoulder Innovations-ALM Ortho deal.
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Featured image shows Shoulder Innovations Logo. Image via Shoulder Innovations.
