aap signs license agreement on international marketing of AEQUOS

Artificial and biological implant specialist aap Implantate AG has concluded a license agreement with HJS Gelenk-System GmbH. By the terms of the agreement, aap is to handle manufacturing and marketing of the AEQUOS knee endoprosthesis and the surgical instruments required for the implant. In addition to the German market, aap also holds exclusive international marketing rights for other EU and EEA countries and for China and Japan. For all other countries with the exception of the Americas, aap holds a non-exclusive license.

The AEQUOS prosthesis, developed by aap as part of an HJS development contract, is the first of its kind with joint surfaces modeled on nature and incorporating the resulting natural rolling and sliding behavior. In the AEQUOS knee the patient has an implant that is self-stabilizing and at the same time has a wide motion travel.

The new AEQUOS knee endoprosthesis has three decisive advantages:
The surface contour, to which worldwide patent rights in the important markets are held, leads in standardized wear and tear trials to less abrasion. Muscular triggering of the joints follows accustomed patterns and also incorporates an automatic interlock to prevent overstretching. The surgical instruments specially developed by aap facilitate a precise implantation.

AEQUOS was first presented to specialists at the Congress of German Orthopedic Surgeons, held in Berlin from Sept. 25 to 28, 2002, thereby opening a new chapter in the history of knee endoprosthetics.

In 2001, the European market for knee implants totaled USD 443 million, of which Germany with USD 168 million accounted for the lion's share (Market Dynamics: Knee Arthroplasty, Datamonitor, May 2002).

In taking on the additional marketing of knee endoprostheses, aap has reached an important milestone for the further expansion of its endoprosthetics segment in the direction of becoming a "one-stop shop." aap now offers customers the opportunity to acquire from a single source all product competencies from bone cement via cementing techniques to the knee implant and the requisite surgical instruments. aap expects marketing of the AEQUOS prosthesis with its cutting-edge technology to lead to a decisive improvement in its European market position.