With its silicon nitride ceramic technology, Amedica is expanding its reach in the medical-products world.

The Salt Lake City-based company recently received a U.S. patent for a hip-implant cup made of silicon nitride, a high-grade ceramic material lauded by Amedica President and CEO Ben Shappley for its ability to meld with natural bone. That fusion enables transplant recipients to have more mobile joints over a longer period of time.

The patent reflects Amedica's plans to expand its focus from developing spinal products to the creation of products suited to hip and knee replacements.

"It's a huge market," said Shappley, a 28-year veteran of managing orthopedic implant companies.

He became the company president last August, about a month before Amedica and its 75 employees moved into a new 57,000-square-foot building at 1885 W. 2100 South. About half of that space is devoted to manufacturing spinal-implant products and, if approved by federal regulators, ceramic materials used to reconstruct knees and hips.

Shappley said more than $100 million has been invested in developing the company's technology. It represents a process that has resulted in 15 patents (eight in the U.S., seven globally). Another 25 patent claims are pending.

Regulators in the U.S., Europe and Latin America have approved the use of Amedica's spinal-implant products, he said, noting that the company has established distributors in the Netherlands, Germany and Latin America. It also is setting up a distribution system in Turkey and Dubai. Amedica has signed a contract to supply spinal implant products to the U.S. military.

Sales of hip-implant parts in Europe already has begun, Shappley said, helping to raise money to pay for the lengthy and costly process of receiving U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the silicon nitride products used to replace knees and hips.

To cover those costs, he is responsible for using contacts made over the past quarter century to secure financial support from private equity sources such as Creation Capital LLC in New York City.

"The timing for us could not be better," said Shappley, adding that Amedica has offers out to purchase two or three other spinal-care companies, firms that will be relocated to Salt Lake City when the deals are done. Amedica also has taken preliminary steps toward going public in the next 18 to 24 months, he said.

"We believe we can help surgeons achieve more successful outcomes in restoring patient function and more rapid healing for patients," Shappley said in a March announcement of a separate U.S. patent for ceramic-on-ceramic bearings for total joint replacements and spinal disc applications.

Added his colleague, chief science and technology officer Ashok Khandkar: "The high strength and toughness of our silicon nitride ceramics provides us with a versatile surface-bearing technology, which offers surgeons wider design choices and better anatomic fit and function."

Shappley said Salt Lake City is a good location for the company, citing the strength of local schools and relatively low real-estate prices as perks that appeal to many people recruited to join Amedica (15 this year alone).

In addition, he said, "it's awfully helpful to have a huge Delta [Air Line] hub here for a company doing global business."