May 22 2013
Based on its recent research on the dental implant market, Frost & Sullivan presents Nano Bridging Molecules SA (NBM) with the 2013 European Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation Leadership. The company's patented SurfLink® technology has the potential to bring a major revolution to bone-anchored implants by drastically reducing the technical challenges associated with conventional dental implant technologies.
NBM's unique solution produces a monolayer of permanently bound multiphosphonate molecules on titanium implant surfaces. The multiphosphonate molecules are highly desirable as they are comprised of phosphate molecules which are an essential component of bone resulting in minimal biocompatibility issues. Available as a sterile powder, SurfLink® is mixed with water and applied as a solution on implants.
"Easy to use, cost-effective, aesthetically enhancing, and capable of ensuring long-term fixation and better functioning of the implanted tooth, SurfLink® outperforms the dental implant technologies currently available in the market," said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Neha Arun Bakshi . "Conventional dental implants require two to four months for proper integration and often have several exposed threads/screws that can be aesthetically unpleasant or can attract bacterial infections."
The biocompatibility and high fixation ability of SurfLink® help reduce the number of surgical revisions, lower patient suffering, and contribute to huge cost savings. NBM has already won over leading authorities in dental implantology with its product's heightened performance advantages. For instance, SurfLink® aids in up to 43 per cent quicker bone healing around the implant, and up to 32 per cent enhanced early fixation of the implant. It has 39 per cent greater long-term bone integration and 21 per cent increased long-term stability when compared with the closest competing product. SurfLink® makes the implant surface hydrophilic, which enables quicker cell adhesion and colonization, resulting in faster bone matrix formation and osseointegration.
"This also means that SurfLink® has the potential to make implants available to patient groups who are currently prevented from using them due to deficiencies in bone quality," observed Bakshi. "It is, therefore, highly probable that implant manufacturers that are licensed users and distributors of SurfLink®-treated implants will have a major competitive benefit to increase their market share in the dental implant market."
Further, SurfLink®'s properties allow it to be used for hip and knee replacements as well as replacement of other joints, such as the elbow and shoulder. It can also provide a solution for problems of the spinal cord, such as collapsing vertebrae. The technology has already received European CE Marking as a dental implant product and NBM has received ISO 13485 certification for quality management system practices.
In recognition of the tremendous potential of its innovative technology as well as the value it can provide customers, NBM is the worthy recipient of the 2013 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Leadership Award in the dental implant sector. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to a company that has demonstrated uniqueness in developing a technology, which significantly impacts both the functionality and the customer value of new products and applications. The award lauds the relevance of the innovation to the industry.
Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.