Syndicom’s collaborative technology fosters new treatment plans, more effective surgical techniques and life-saving medical devices

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DURANGO, Colo. – Two heads are better than one, or so the adage goes.
With the advent of Syndicom’s proprietary collaborative technology, a potentially unlimited number of “heads” – or currently, in Syndicom’s case, spine surgeons – is not only validating the adage, but improving care to spine patients throughout the world. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Syndicom has developed an array of web-based products and the company is poised to move into new fields of medicine.
Before “My Space” or such web-based networking platforms even existed, Scott Capdevielle, Syndicom’s founder and CEO, was working with organizational behaviorist Raymond Miles to develop some type of company that allowed for creativity and collaboration, as well as fair and equitable treatment of Intellectual Property. At the same time Capdevielle’s college friend Jim Youssef, MD, senior partner of SpineColorado and also Syndicom’s vice president of medical business development, had established his medical practice in Durango.
“Since Jim (Youssef) is a good friend of mine, I called him up and said we were looking at medicine as a way to do this,” said Capdevielle, noting that medicine, by nature, is collaborative. Physicians regularly consult with each other on cases, plus must keep current with advances in technology, working closely with medical device companies.

“Miles had theorized that collaboration would yield higher, more sophisticated solutions to complicated problems,” said Youssef, who was the first spine surgeon on Colorado’s Western Slope and, in essence, without a convenient collaborative network. “But there would have to be some sort of protocol that people would follow. And that protocol would have to subscribe to acknowledging others who contributed, not trying to take all the credit yourself, answering quickly, posting quickly, being honest.”
The seeds were planted for Syndicom’s first product: SpineConnect, which is designed to allow spine surgeons, no matter where they are located, to collaborate on line. Syndicom launched SpineConnect quietly in late 2005 with 13 surgeons. Today, more than 1,200 spine surgeons in 40-plus countries are working with each other on complex and difficult cases to the benefit of both the surgeons and patients.
“What’s fascinating is the growth of SpineConnect virally,” said Walker Thompson, Syndicom vice president of sales and marketing. “Board certified surgeons who are members of SpineConnect invite other surgeons to join the group. It shows you the power of the surgeon network and how excited they are about using collaboration and SpineConnect to solve their problems.”
SpineConnect is free to qualified surgeons to log on and post their cases and pose their questions. And response is rapid. As Youssef noted, he recently posted what he referenced as a “fairly complex” case and overnight he had 26 responses.
As surgeons also are intimately involved with medical device companies – from idea development and design, to clinical trials and product launch and training – they recognized additional potential for SpineConnect with these device firms. According to Youssef, more than 140 spine companies have emerged in the past two years, with some $700 million invested in new technology for spinal care.
“We said, all right and started working with the device companies, building the platform and extra features needed to support that industry,” said Capdevielle. “Our software makes it easier for device companies to work with the surgeons.”
Beyond information sharing, education and training on new products, Syndicom’s technology helps facilitate clinical trials for new technology, and also avoid adverse events. A company running clinical trials for FDA approval can work through SpineConnect to secure surgeon consults on cases to be used in the trials – to help ensure that the cases fit the criteria. According to Capdevielle, 10 to 12 percent of cases accepted and scheduled for surgery through the older, traditional process are scratched because they aren’t appropriate.
“Trials can get shut down pretty quickly, and they get shut down because adverse events happen,” said Capdevielle of “things that don’t go right. If you get a couple of those and the FDA shuts it (the trial) down, that’s the loss of a $5 – 10 – 20 million investment (by the company).”
“So it’s also like an insurance policy,” added Thompson of the collaborative effort through SpineConnect. “If you’ve got every surgeon saying this is the right way to go, the right case… then you’ve saved a lot of time and a lot of headaches.”
Additional products have also been developed for the medical device companies, including SalesEdge to facilitate collaboration within the sales force of a company – to share input from surgeons and allow for mentoring and on-going training. The MarketAccess program allows device companies to disseminate information to surgeons within SpineConnect.
“It’s really helpful for surgeons,” said Thompson of the new treatment options, training event or educational opportunity posted by the device companies. “We’re selective of the companies we allow in. It’s not just random billboard space. It’s educational, engagement opportunities for the surgeons.”
Youssef has also used the network to advance research. He posted the question, “Do steroids affect cervical fusion?” In working virtually with the Cleveland Clinic and UCLA, Youssef had the answer, including supporting data, in two weeks.
“That whole process would normally take someone months and months and months of going through charts, looking through cases, looking at x-rays,” said Youssef. “We were then able to get an abstract both created and accepted to the Cervical Spine Research Society in less than three weeks.”
One of Capdevielle’s goals since forming Syndicom was to provide a vehicle for bringing new products to market in fair and equitable fashion. As the company is currently working in the orthopaedic arena, this has been the natural launch pad, and Syndicom currently has seven patents, one of which was licensed to Johnson & Johnson earlier this year.
“It’s an inter-spine spacer,” said Capdevielle of the product called the “Back Jack.” “If you have degenerative disk disease and a collapsed or compressed disk, this device can be inserted – minimally invasive, outpatient – and jacks it up.”
What sets Syndicom apart from other similar ventures is the “fair and equitable” effort. Typically, according to Capdevielle, the firm (like Syndicom) bringing all the pieces together – the patent attorney, surgeon, etc. – takes the bulk of the dollars.
“What we did is say, no, we’re going to totally flip that and the guy who’s bringing us the idea, he deserves the big chunk, and everybody else deserves to be treated fairly based on their contribution,” said Capdevielle. “At the end of the day everybody has more than they’ve ever received before. And it’s a repeatable process… No one is exploited, so you’ll have repeat business. Versus if you’re doing it like everybody else and exploiting people, (their attitude will be) I can be exploited anywhere, and there’s no loyalty.”
With the success of the model, consideration is being given to spinning this division off into a separate company.
The greatest challenge Syndicom faces is acceptance of the technology – even though Thompson assures that the software is extremely user-friendly. New, younger doctors tend to readily embrace it, but it’s convincing the mentor doctors and the medical device companies to participate.
“To me, collaboration is the commitment that we’re going to do this,” said Thompson. “Once they do it, it’s instantaneous. A quote I heard, ‘Once you commit, providence kicks in.’ I think that’s what we do. Once you commit to collaboration, everything is there.”
“You do start seeing the opportunities,” said Capdevielle. “But it’s funny because it’s a skill people have to learn. That’s where the commitment comes in. It’s not like it’s a box and you flip a switch and everything’s working. You have to commit to changing the way you do things, learning this new school, and participate. We’re finding that we can help companies adopt this strategy. Those who adopt it first are going to win the biggest and be in the lead.”
Though Syndicom has focused on spine, work has begun to move into five additional medical disciplines that are experiencing the same type of technology growth:  ophthalmic (eye), gastro-intestinal, cardio, OBGYN and other areas of orthopaedics.
Since product launch in 2005, Syndicom’s staff has grown from a handful to more than 20, and the company recently moved into new facilities in the developing complex at the corner of Florida and East Animas. With a complete in house IT department, Capdevielle is committed to releasing new products quarterly – and he’s anticipating expanding the team.
“We’re looking for more people with clinical backgrounds,” he said. “They would help us work with these device companies and build the collaborative teams on the clinical side for trials and research.”
“”Just adding this kind of business to Durango, it’s hugely beneficial,” noted Youssef, lauding Syndicom’s ability to provide solid professional positions and livable wages in a growing company. “We have a great team – enthusiastic, young, energetic, bright group of people all working together. I really enjoy it.”
As Syndicom’s tag line states, “Good things happen when people connect.” For further information on the company, visit www.syndicom.com