Biomet, Zimmer, Stryker, Wright Medical, Among Top 25 Medical Device Players
Aside from being top companies within the orthopaedics industry, Biomet, Stryker, Zimmer, Wright Medical, Synthes, and Smith & Nephew are among the top 25 manufacturers in the entire medical device industry. In an article published by MD+DI, Yair Holtzman and Tom Figgatt, Sr of WTP Advisors discuss how these companies successfully made it through the rough economy of the past few years....
Device Companies: Attract Investors by Differentiating Yourself
  The orthopedic device industry has taken a beating during the past few years, just as other sectors of the medical device industry have struggled. Although the sector has improved in areas, we are far from recovery and may never get back to the good ol’ days. Competition is fierce and getting products through the arduous FDA process is no picnic. As companies revisit their strategies...
Recovery of Orthopaedics Companies Remains Slow
  In a daily letter from Canaccord Genuity, analysts reiterated a statement made last summer about the end of the glory days in orthopaedics. That is not to say that things won’t get better, but don’t expect to see improvements until the economy as a whole recovers. Three Manufacturers Who Look Good: China Kangui Holdings. The China-based orthopaedics company continues to grow...
FDA Warns Depuy, Stryker on Top Again, Innovation Talk
  As the highs and lows of a week in medtech go, the past few days have been no exception. DePuy received a warning letter concerning joint replacements and has reportedly stopped making certain devices. Stryker is on top (again), as it ranked 80 on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Finally Mir Imran, an esteemed entrepreneur, innovator, and investor in the...
Hip Implant Bearing Report Shows Little Difference Among Bearing Combinations
As metal-on-metal hip implants continue to be scrutinized, here's the latest from Jim Dickinson in MD+DI's Washington Wrap-Up: A review of clinical trials, observational studies, and registries produced limited evidence on comparative effectiveness of various hip implant bearing combinations, according to an open source British Medical Journal report by researchers from CDRH and universities...
Money Flowing in 2012
  Business in orthopaedics is off to a strong start this year. Zimmer announced its intention to acquire Synvasive Technology Inc. (Reno, NV), a manufacturer of surgical cutting devices. Start-up DiFusion received $5.2 million from 54 investors. The company, which is developing a technology that prevents postoperative infections, has an ultimate goal of raising $16 million. In its third...
FDA and Over-Correction
On January 10, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the California Healthcare Institute, and BayBio made public early results of the California Biomedical Industry 2012 Report, which surveyed biomedical industry CEOs. Speaking at the event was Alex Lukianov, CEO of Nuvasive, who was at no loss of words to discuss his views on FDA and what he referred to as "a cultural tone" at the agency of over...
Stryker Improves Culture, Engages Employees
In this harsh economic environment, many employees are just happy to have a job. However, being gainfully employed isn’t the key to happiness, which generally leads to productivity, in the workplace. The folks at Stryker might have found part of this key, according to Gallup Management Journal. Employee engagement.   At Stryker’s Mahwah, NJ-based plant, nearly half of its...
S&N Spins off Biologics Biz, Breast Implant Scandal, and Employee Poaching
S&N is expected to get $98 million cash and a $160 million five-year-note for spinning off its biologics business into the joint venture Bioventus. Reuters reports that S&N will be using the money to pay down its debt. Check out some more news highlights from this week. Smith & Nephew Spins Off Biologics Biz (PE Hub) Employee Poaching Gets Competitive in Device Industry (MD+DI)...
Metal-on-Metal Hips Need Better Lubricant
With the latest fallout surrounding metal-on-metal (MoM) hip failure being that it will cost the healthcare and taxpayer system billions of dollars, these devices need help. And now researchers from across the globe have made a discovery about MoM hips that could help improve future designs of the device. Did you know that the lubricating layer (graphitic carbon) in MoM hips is more like material...