The Southern Group of bio-technology companies was formed in 1987. Since inception this dynamic group has concentrated on implant devices conforming to the highest standards of quality and bio-compatibility.
The parent company, Southern Implants (Pty) Ltd, has developed and manufactures dental implants and associated prosthetic devices. When Southern Implants was established in 1987 in South Africa, dental implant science on a worldwide basis was in its infancy. Southern Implants has been one of the pioneers in this field and has contributed extensively to the enhancements with respect to osseo-integration of implant devices, surgical techniques, patient education and options of treatment. Southern Implants is not only the leading dental implant company in South Africa, but is a significant role player in the USA, Europe and Australasia.
The success with implementation of the highest quality standards enabled the establishment of a plant for the processing of bovine pericardium and the development of a mitral heart valve utilizing this material. Glycar (Pty) Ltd, an associated company was established to manufacture and develop the applications for cross-linked collagenous membranes. Products include hernia repair patches, dural membranes, ligament and tendon augmentation and reconstruction devices, and nerve sheath implant devices. The marketing of specific cardiac applications has been awarded to St Jude Medical Inc. whereas all orthopaedic and neurosurgical applications are marketed by Southern Medical (Pty) Ltd.
The development of orthopaedic implant devices capitalized on the extensive experience of the company with respect to precision machining and processing of implantable materials such as titanium, as well as knowledge of surface treatments for enhanced integration. This prompted the formation of Southern Medical (Pty) Ltd, a company dedicated to the highest standards of manufacture and research and development of orthopaedic and neurosurgical implantable devices. The company is comprised of spinal surgery, hand surgery, foot surgery, maxillo facial surgery and neurosurgery divisions.
The Southern Group of companies adhere to the highest medical quality standards. Southern Implants, Glycar and Southern Medical are ISO 9000 approved companies. Products are CE marked subsequent to development and the manufacturing facility is an approved FDA manufacturing facility.
The Southern Group of Companies is furthermore comprised of:
Southern Cryoscience (Pty) Ltd a non-profit company for the high quality harvesting and cryopreservation of homograft heart valves. This takes place in a state-of-the-art class 100 facility specifically erected for this purpose.
Southern Ear Nose and Throat (Pty) Ltd is the Southern company dedicated to the development and production of products for the ENT field. This company is also the proud distributor of the Nucleus™ Cochlear implant.
Southern Biotech (Pty) Ltd is the Southern company dedicated to cellular expansion efforts and applications thereof to the orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery and woundcare fields.
Medika SA (Pty) Ltd is the Southern Group company dedicated completely to the production and development of woundcare products.
The Southern Group of Companies is firmly committed to ensuring not only excellence in medical implantation devices, but ensuing that these devices are cost effective. The group's employees count in excess of 120 staff, which includes a strong Research and Development Department. The group is developing and evaluating numerous devices which will ensure that it remains the leading biotechnology group in South Africa.
