Cerapedics Inc., a US-based, commercial-stage musculoskeletal company involved in bone repair, announced on Thursday that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted New Technology Add-On Payment (NTAP) status for PearlMatrix P-15 Peptide Enhanced Bone Graft, a Class III drug-device combination product for skeletally mature patients with degenerative disc disease in the lumbar spine.

The NTAP designation provides supplemental reimbursement to hospitals and healthcare facilities that utilise novel technologies that represent significant clinical advances. PearlMatrix was granted NTAP status under CMS' alternative NTAP pathway, which recognises the transformative nature of products that have received US FDA Breakthrough Device designation.

Inclusion in the NTAP program highlights the potential to address a critical need for patients requiring faster fusion products. Cerapedics says that PearlMatrix is the first and only bone growth accelerator proven to substantially increase lumbar fusion speed.

The NTAP program applies to eligible Medicare beneficiaries receiving inpatient care at hospitals paid under the Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS). For qualifying inpatient cases involving PearlMatrix, NTAP approval allows for up to 65% reimbursement of the additional cost associated with the technology. This approval can help support patient access to innovative medical technologies during the early stages of adoption, and can also influence commercial insurers as they consider recent technology like PearlMatrix.