SpineGuard look to break even by 2018, promotes co-founder & CTO Bette to CEO

SpineGuard  (EPA:ALSGD) said today it has implemented a profitability plan as it looks to break even by next year, and announced it would move its co-founder & CTO Stéphane Bette to the corner office, effective July 13.

In it’s pursuit of reaching a breakeven point, the company said it will concentrate its efforts in 2017 and 2018 on signing industry partnerships to expand the commercial applications of its DSG tech in the spinal and broader musculoskeletal sectors.

The company said it would also look to grow its worldwide sales with a focus on the US, as well as the implementation of a plan as it seeks to “right size its organization.”

“SpineGuard is a high-performing company with a cohesive team and a unique technology in DSG. We delivered double-digit growth this first half of the year in a context where we are preparing for the US launch of our smart DSG screw. I look forward to intensifying SpineGuard’s focus on leveraging our core DSG platform through additional deals in spine and other musculoskeletal segments while continuing to grow our organic sales, capitalizing on our strong commercial, marketing and clinical foundations and rebalancing the organization. In order to reach financial freedom, we have set a specific goal that SpineGuard reaches breakeven by the end of 2018 and then profitability,” Bette said in prepared remarks.

SpineGuard said its board of directors had named US GM, CTO and co-founder Bette as its new CEO, taking over for Pierre Jérôme, who will stay on the company’s board. Bette has led US operations at Spine Guard since 2009, and held a number of roles at SpineVision, the company said.

“The board is very pleased to appoint Stéphane as CEO to lead the company through its next stage of growth. He has led the company’s increasingly important US operations 2 since 2009 as well as overseen the development of SpineGuard’s core DSG technology platform. He is a natural successor to his co-Founder Pierre Jérôme, whom we warmly thank for his leadership of the company over the past 8 years. Under Pierre’s stewardship, SpineGuard has grown from a one-product company with €1 million in sales, through multiple fund-raising rounds, including an IPO in 2013, to the strong position it is in today. We are very pleased to have Pierre continue his association with the company in his role as Director with a particular focus on strategic and business development initiatives,” chair Alan Olsen said in a press release.

“After driving SpineGuard with close support from Stéphane since its inception, I am particularly glad to hand over the baton to him now – when momentum is building for the company with sustained growth, promising perspectives in China and the further deployment of our DSG technology platform in spine and dental through our partnership strategy. This smooth transition will provide continuity for our employees, customers and partners,” Jérôme said in a prepared statement.

Last June, SpineGuard said it won FDA 510(k) clearance for its PediGuard threaded Dynamic Surgical Guidance device designed for pedicle screw insertion.

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