DJO Global, a San Diego-based medical device provider announced this week that the company’s indirect subsidiary DJO LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of DJO Finance LLC, has acquired Minnesota startup Exos Corp.
The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Exos makes heat-moldable and reformable casts and splints that come in a variety of eye-popping shades and designs. Under a 2011 distribution partnership between Exos and DJO Global, the California company was already selling the the cast/splints meant for treating upper extremity fractures such as those of the hand, thumb, arm and wrist.
The acquisition won’t have a significant impact on DJO Finance’s sales, but operating margins and income are expected to rise, according to a news release.
What is innovative about Exos’ bracing technology is that it is thermoformable and reformable — in other words, it is formed using heat and can be repeatedly molded until the appropriate fit over the patient is achieved.
“The material is heat moldable and … if perhaps the clinician were to form it at the wrong angle or it’s not ideal, they can remove it, reheat it and reform it again,” said Steve Ingel, president of DJO Global’s bracing and supports business unit, in a previous interview with MedCity News. “It eliminates a lot of waste that normally occurs with thermoformable or other formable products where you don’t have the ability to reform it. You have to throw it out and start over.”
It is also radiolucent, which means it doesn’t block X-rays. The product is heated in three minutes and formed in another three to seven minutes, Ingel explained.
The Exos bracing system also has a closure system that allows people to open the cast and scratch itchy skin, something that is impossible with the traditional plaster cast.
For kids, the closure system is lockable so they cannot as easily open it. The product is also waterproof and allows wearers the freedom to swim, according to Ingel. That is a marked contrast with plaster casts; when they get wet, they must be sawed off and reapplied.
In announcing the transaction, Ingel said: “[With] Exos’ unique technology and our distribution network, we have been able to make significant headway in the marketplace.”
Exos was founded in 2007 and is based in Arden Hills, Minnesota. It raised $925,000 in 2010, according to a regulatory filing. The company is led by its founder Fariborz Boor Boor.
“DJO has been an incredible partner for Exos over the past year,” Boor Boor said in the news release. “DJO has a proud history of innovation, world-class customer service and a terrific corporate culture, which makes it a perfect fit for our employees and technology. We look forward to joining the DJO team.”
