VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Nov. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — ViviGen® Cellular Bone Matrix is associated with significantly lower hospital costs compared to recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), according to an analysis of more than 16,000 U.S. lumbar fusions procedures.
The analysis, the first to directly compare the clinical economics associated with a growth factor to those of a cellular bone allograft, utilized the Premier Healthcare Database to compare total costs billed for the initial fusion procedure and during 12 months of follow-up for surgeries performed between October 2015 and September 2018. The study, which was published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, showed that average charges associated with procedures using ViviGen were up to $50,000 lower than procedures using rhBMP-2. The data shows that ViviGen provides hospitals with a fusion solution that is more cost effective than rhBMP-2.
The two patient groups — approximately 6,600 treated with ViviGen and 9,600 treated with rhBMP-2 — had similar rates of subsequent lumbar surgeries and hospital re-admissions during the follow-up period, despite patients in the ViviGen group having significantly higher rates of comorbidities such as diabetes and cancer prior to the initial surgery. 
“The data in this robust study continues to highlight the powerful clinical outcomes clinicians and patients are seeing with ViviGen,” said Daniel Osborne, Vice President of Global Marketing and Commercial Strategy at LifeNet Health. “These results emphasize the true economic advantages it offers as well, bringing together successful outcomes and drastically lower costs.”
The economic data follows previous clinical publications showing that ViviGen supports fusion in even complex cases, including patients with multiple comorbidities at a high-risk of non-union. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research showed that ViviGen helped achieve a fusion rate of more than 98 percent in complex, multi-level lumbar fusion — results that outperform alternative solutions such as growth factors and autograft.
“We know from the clinical results that ViviGen is different from other solutions such as growth factors and other cellular bone allografts,” said Mark Moore, PhD, LifeNet Health’s Chief Scientific Affairs Officer. “Now, this unique economic analysis provides clear data points that illuminates cost efficiency as an important aspect of ViviGen’s real-world benefit to hospitals and patients.”
ViviGen is the first cellular allograft to focus on recovering and protecting viable, lineage-committed bone cells to support the bone-healing process.
About LifeNet Health
LifeNet Health helps save lives, restore health, and give hope to thousands each year. It is the world’s most trusted provider of transplant solutions — from organ procurement to bio-implants and cellular therapies — and a leader in regenerative medicine, while always honoring the donors and healthcare professionals who enable healing. For more information about LifeNet Health, go to www.lifenethealth.org.
SOURCE LifeNet Health