I need a detailed company profile of a company in Stratford, CT called
Vertebron Inc. I "do not" need information from their website at
www.vertebron.com; instead, I am looking for more detailed information
like: annual sales, company officers, number of employees, names of
doctors that use their products, and do they use sales reps or
distributors?, in essence - how is their business run. This
information might be found in business journals or bulletin board
postings.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 29 Aug 2003 19:55 PDT

I have found a number of articles about Vertebron in specialty
magazines such as "Transplant News" and the "Fairfield County Business
Journal".  However, they all stem from the same handful of press
releases the Vertebron has issued, and probably don't offer much
information that isn't already available on Vertebron's website.

From the looks of things, it may be premature to seek information on
sales, and users of their products.  As Vertebron's own site notes:

"VERTEBRON is in process of completing its initial seed round of
financing and is preparing to rapidly accelerate product realization
and expansion into both domestic and international markets.  To
further capitalize on its growth and vision, the company has fortified
its infrastructure with premier worldwide distribution and the
recruitment of key thought leaders and strategic alliances."

In other words..they hope to have real products *soon*, but I'm not
sure they have them in the offing just yet -- they are not listed in
any FDA databases of medical products, nor do I see any clinical
trials involving Vertebron.  If you know differently, please let us
know what you've heard about actual use/sales of products, so that we
can focus our research to best meet your needs.

I'll be glad to give you all the bits and pieces of information I'm
finding on this company (and I'm sure I can unearth a bit more, as
well).  But all told, it's not that much, and until they are more
firmly "in business", I'm not sure there's much to be had.

Let me now how you would like to proceed on this.

pafalafa-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 30 Aug 2003 15:15 PDT

Orthoman-ga,

Thanks for getting back to me and the other commenters.  Although I
can't fully answer your question, I do want to provide you with the
dribs and drabs of information that I've collected on Vertebron.

And since you asked, if you want to direct funds to a particular
researcher, you can post a $2 "question"  {e.g. What's your favorite
color) to the attention of that researcher, and then add a tip after
the question is answered, in an amount you feel is warranted.  Here's
an example of what I mean:

http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=211703

--------------------------------------------------

And here's the info I've accumulated on Vertebron, in no particular
order:

They registered in Deleware as a corporation on 5/28/2003 as:

VERTEBRON INC
 136 ALBERT AVE
  STRATFORD, CT 06614

and listed as a Secured Party:
 DELL FINANCIAL SERVICES, L.P.       12234 N. IH-35 BLDG B        
AUSTIN, TX 78753


------

They are slated to present at a prestigious conference in October in
Boston:


Medtech Insight's "Investment In Innovation (In3):  A Preview of
Early-Stage
Medical Technology Companies"™ conferences are advanced forums for
presentation by, and interaction with, leading clinicians and industry
decision-makers driving the development of advanced medical
technologies.

Boston, Massachusetts, The Westin Copley Place Hotel
October 30-31, 2003

http://www.medtechinsight.com/in3-09.html

[including] Vertebron, Inc. -- spinal orthopaedic implants, spanning
fusion (pedicle screws, cervical plates, interbody), and motion
preservation (artificial discs)

-------

They will also be exhibiting at the meeting of the North American
Spine Society:

http://www.spine.org/Forms/AM03_Prelim_prog.pdf

in San Diego, October 21-25, 2003.

-------

They have entered into a "strategic alliance" with a group called MTF
to further Vertebron's development:

http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/ce/Bct-vertebron.Ry5q_DuH.html

  VERTEBRON Inc. Announces a Long-Term Strategic Alliance and Minority
Equity Investment from the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation
-MTF-, the World's Largest AATB Accredited Bone and Tissue Bank

STRATFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 2003--VERTEBRON Inc.
(VERTEBRON) has entered into a strategic alliance with the
Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) for product development,
co-marketing and distribution of specified bone grafts in addition to
synthetic constructs within certain international markets.

Negotiations concerning the distribution terms for specific countries
are in process. The initial term for this strategic alliance is
anticipated to span at least 3 years, with options for renewal up to 7
years. MTF, located in Edison, NJ, is the world's largest bone and
tissue provider and is accredited by the American Association of
Tissue Banks (AATB). MTF will work with VERTEBRON to develop a series
of allograft and synthetic products which will complement VERTEBRON's
broad portfolio of spinal implants within the European and Asian
markets. In connection with this strategic alliance, MTF is also
making a minority equity investment in VERTEBRON.

VERTEBRON, located in Stratford, CT, has developed revolutionary
spinal implant technologies, including artificial discs, cervical
plates and pedicle screw systems to participate in both the over $2
billion fusion market and rapidly expanding motion preservation
market, which is expected to exceed $3 billion by 2010. Allograft bone
remains the structural material of choice because of its biologic and
integration properties with host bone. Partnering with an AATB
accredited tissue bank that maintains extremely high quality standards
is crucial to providing patients within the international community
with the best quality tissue available.

-------

According to an article in Private Equity Week:


http://www.ventureeconomics.com/cgi-bin/newsearch.pl?COMPOSITE=vertebron&FREETXT=&HEADLINE=&COMP=vertebron&bm=&bd=&by=2003&em=&ed=&ey=2003&NUMBERROWS=10&TYPE=&HEADLINE=&TRANSMISSIONDATEFROM=&TRANSMISSIONDATETO=&ISSUEIDFROM=&ISSUEIDTO=&PUBID=PEW&RESULTCOUNT_FLAG=ON&BODY_FLAG=OFF

"Vertebron Inc. of Stratford, Conn., has filed to raise $2.5 million
through a private offering of common stock. At the time of its SEC
filing, the company had already raised $1.5 million from 16 accredited
and 24 non-accredited investors. The minimum investment of $10,000
required on the placement can be waived. Thomas Dyevich of Princeton,
N.J., is acting as an agent on the placement for $15,000 in finders'
fees. The company, engaged in the business related to spinal implant
technology, intends to use the proceeds from the offering for salaries
and fees, purchase, rental or leasing and installation of machinery
and equipment, construction or leasing of plant buildings and
facilities, acquisition of other businesses, debt repayment and
working capital. For more information, call Hosam Afifi, president, at
203-380-9340."

[Note the CEO name and phone number mentioned here]
------

Information on the SEC filing mentioned above can be found at:

http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001254670&owner=include

Registration of sale of securities [Regulation D and Section 4(6) of
the Securities Act of 1933], item 06

However, the form itself it not available online, but may be
obtainable from the SEC.

-------- 

Hope this is of some use to you....wish there was more!

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Clarification of Question by orthoman-ga on 30 Aug 2003 21:06 PDT

For Pafalafa,
Your efforts should be rewarded. It's hard to find information when
there isn't much there. Our of curosity, do you ever conduct
confidential phone research for your clients? Also, I try my best to
be fair -- how about I post another question for $2 and give you a $98
tip? Does that sound fair and would you be satisfied?
Respectfully,
Orthoman

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 31 Aug 2003 04:37 PDT

Hello again,

Too bad we couldn't find you $200 worth of information on Verebron. 
But your offer to post a separate question to my attention would be
more than fair.  Thanks.

pafalafa-g

I have what you need but I cannot get it to you as I am not a google researcher

Not sure what to do sue59-ga

8-30-2003

Check with the Connecticut Secretary of State's website on Monday
(when access to the business database is available--it's closed on
weekends) and do a search on this company name.  Also there are many
companies that do business background checks/credit reports on
businesses, such as www.dunandbradstreet.com which would give you a
report for $125 containing the financial details you mentioned.  Since
this company is so recently formed, it's going to be hard to find
information online about it.  You may also want to consider having a
private investigator do background checks on the CEO and other company
officials, if you are considering investing funds in this
company--they certainly have carved out an interesting niche in the
medical field.

SINCERELY,

KEITH (I'm NOT a GOOGLE Researcher)