08.05.13
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Traditional large-joint markets showed continued sluggish performance, while trauma and emerging markets demonstrated promise.
For most medical device companies on this year’s Top 10 list, fiscal 2012 remained a fair year, despite lingering financial and regulatory uncertainty. Some of the firms (still U.S. dominated) on our list reported sales gains or were solidly level with their 2011 performance, though a few still struggled to overcome challenging headwinds in the moribund joint replacement market. So far, it seems, the world’s largest orthopedic implant manufacturers continue to weather slower economic growth relatively well. This is probably little consolation, however, for an industry that’s used to double-digit revenue growth, hefty margins and more predictable regulatory pathways. While this group is learning ways to deftly navigate choppy financial seas, they’re also evolving as part of the process, learning to become leaner, more efficient and increasingly innovative in order to compete. File this under the old adage: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” It’s no surprise then, that firms are becoming more global in scope, moving beyond traditional markets and embracing new global sales opportunities in areas with growing middle classes and expanding healthcare needs and budgets. Those demographics are well-known and bode well. But the evolution of these 10 companies—and the industry as a whole, really—also is a technological one that will mean new sales prospects in both existing and expanding markets. The orthopedic device sector will have to face (and already is in some areas) more input from consumers as they manage their own care, work with physicians and caregivers about their technology and treatment options, and do so remotely or wirelessly using a tablet and/or advanced monitoring technology. Some of the firms in this report already have begun to tackle such challenges. In this case, the race indeed may be to the swift.
Editors’ note: As you read our report, please take note that while the companies are ranked according to sales reported for FY 2012 (though we do provide some 2013 figures to date where possible), some may include non-orthopedic sales within a division. Not all companies explicitly break out specific product portions of total revenues. We consulted numerous public documents and contacted company officials as needed to arrive at the best estimates.
Top 10 Orthopedic Device Companies
Traditional large-joint markets showed continued sluggish performance, while trauma and emerging markets demonstrated promise.
For most medical device companies on this year’s Top 10 list, fiscal 2012 remained a fair year, despite lingering financial and regulatory uncertainty. Some of the firms (still U.S. dominated) on our list reported sales gains or were solidly level with their 2011 performance, though a few still struggled to overcome challenging headwinds in the moribund joint replacement market. So far, it seems, the world’s largest orthopedic implant manufacturers continue to weather slower economic growth relatively well. This is probably little consolation, however, for an industry that’s used to double-digit revenue growth, hefty margins and more predictable regulatory pathways. While this group is learning ways to deftly navigate choppy financial seas, they’re also evolving as part of the process, learning to become leaner, more efficient and increasingly innovative in order to compete. File this under the old adage: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” It’s no surprise then, that firms are becoming more global in scope, moving beyond traditional markets and embracing new global sales opportunities in areas with growing middle classes and expanding healthcare needs and budgets. Those demographics are well-known and bode well. But the evolution of these 10 companies—and the industry as a whole, really—also is a technological one that will mean new sales prospects in both existing and expanding markets. The orthopedic device sector will have to face (and already is in some areas) more input from consumers as they manage their own care, work with physicians and caregivers about their technology and treatment options, and do so remotely or wirelessly using a tablet and/or advanced monitoring technology. Some of the firms in this report already have begun to tackle such challenges. In this case, the race indeed may be to the swift.
Editors’ note: As you read our report, please take note that while the companies are ranked according to sales reported for FY 2012 (though we do provide some 2013 figures to date where possible), some may include non-orthopedic sales within a division. Not all companies explicitly break out specific product portions of total revenues. We consulted numerous public documents and contacted company officials as needed to arrive at the best estimates.
Top 10 Orthopedic Device Companies
1. | Stryker | $8.7 billion |
2. | DePuy Synthes | $7.8 billion |
3. | Zimmer | $4.5 billion |
4. | Smith & Nephew | $4.1 billion |
5. | Medtronic Spinal | $3.3 billion |
6. | Biomet | $2.8 billion |
7. | DJO Global | $1.3 billion |
8. | Integra LifeSciences | $831 million |
9. | NuVasive | $620 million |
10. | Wright Medical | $484 million |