A Colorado judge dismissed Jama Parker's lawsuit against Stryker over a squeaky ceramic-on-ceramic hip. The court determined that since the Trident system has PMA clearance, Parker's claims were preempted. Last February, an 8-1 Supreme Court decision upheld preemption in Reigel... more
Earnings CONMED reported 3Q:08 revenues of $179.4 million, up 9% over the year-ago period and beating estimates by $2.95 million. Arthroscopy was up 18% (17% constant currency), contributing $69.5 million to total sales. On a non-GAAP basis, diluted earnings per... more
Earnings Biomet reported FQ1:09 revenues of $607.0 million, up 13% (9% constant currency) over the year-ago period. Excluding special charges, adjusted operating income was $171.6 million for FQ1:09, up 12% over FQ1:08. Among segments, reconstructive reported $449.3 million in sales,... more
Stryker's bold move a few weeks ago of suing the DOJ over an ongoing investigation has been the subject of wide speculation, and while little is known for sure about what prompted their action, last year's settlement offers some insight.... more
Almost a year following the settlement in its physician-payment investigation, the DOJ just won't leave Stryker alone, or so Stryker claims in a new legal action revealed this week. The company filed suit in U.S. District Court in Newark, NJ,... more
Earnings Kensey Nash reported FQ4:08 revenues of $22.0, representing a 29% increase over FQ4:07 and beating estimates by $1.0 million. Biomaterials were up 37% to $13.3 million, which was attributed to strong growth in the orthopedic and cardiovascular product lines.... more
Earnings Biomet reported FQ4:08 revenues of $635.6 million, an increase of 16% (10% constant currency) over the year-ago period. Sales increased 10% in the U.S and 24% (11% constant currency) OUS. Recon sales increased 17% worldwide (12% constant currency) to... more
Stryker announced last week that sales of Corin's Cormet hip resurfacing system, which Stryker distributes exclusively in the U.S., were not meeting expectations. The company will not order more Cormet systems until December. Shares of both Stryker and Corin fell... more
Stryker's ceramic-on-ceramic hip, the Trident, came to market in 2003 with the promise of providing a more durable alternative for younger patients seeking a THA. A traditional metal/poly hip lasts about ten years, so ceramic seemed to be the answer... more
Earnings Artimplant announced 1Q:08 revenues of SEK 2.1 million ($0.35 million), down from SEK 3.9 million ($0.66 million) in 1Q:07. Net loss for the quarter was SEK 6.2 million ($1.04 million), or SEK 10 ($1.68) per share, a deterioration from... more
Earnings Biomet reported FQ3:08 net sales of $603.1 million, a 14% increase over the year-ago period. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, net sales increased 10%. U.S. revenue was $351.6 million. Adjusted net income for the third quarter was $25.2... more
Earnings BioMimetic Therapeutics reported 4Q:07 revenues of $4.5 million, up from $1.9 million in 4Q:06 but missing analysts' estimates by $1.1 million. Revenues included $3.6 million of product sales of GEM 21S to Luitpold, $0.7 million of royalty income and... more
Earnings Kensey Nash reported FQ2:08 total revenues of $19.6 million, missing estimates by $0.05 million and up 14% over the year-ago period. Net sales of biomaterials products increased 15% to $11.5 million, which the company attributed to orthopedic sales. The... more
Earnings JNJ reported 4Q:07 revenues of $15.96 billion, up 17% over the year-ago period and beating consensus estimates of $15.4 billion. Net income was $2.37 billion, or $0.82 per share, missing estimates by $0.04. Depuy reported 4Q:07 sales of $1.21... more
Earnings Biomet reported earnings for 2FQ:08 last week, with net sales up 11% to $578.1 million over the comparable quarter. Worldwide, knee sales were up 17%, and hip was up 12%. Extremity sales increased 11% and bone cements and accessories... more
Earnings Tutogen reported FY07 revenues of $53.8 million, an increase of 42% over FY06. The Company reported net income of $6.8 million, or $0.36 per fully diluted share in fiscal year 2007 compared to a net loss of $0.6 million,... more
Earnings Artimplant announced 3Q:07 revenue of SEK 2.6 million, up from SEK 0.9 million in the year-ago period. 3Q:07 net loss was SEK 3.6 million, down from SEK 10.4 in 3Q:06. Earnings per share, including a non-recurring item, amounted to... more
Earnings Biomet reported FQ1:08 sales of $552.3 million, up 9% over the comparable quarter. The company reported a net loss for the quarter of $42.9 million, down from an income of $104.4 million for FQ1:07. The company attributed the loss... more
Legal Federal prosecutors announced on Thursday the terms of a settlement with Zimmer, Depuy, Biomet, Smith & Nephew and Stryker following an investigation into physician compensation practices. Zimmer, Depuy, Biomet and Smith & Nephew entered into deferred prosecution agreements and... more
Earnings Stryker reported revenues of $1.46 billion, beating estimates of $1.44 billion and increasing 16% from $1.26 billion in 2Q:06. 2Q:07 earnings were $269.1 million, or $0.65 per share, beating estimates of $0.61 and up from $0.52 in the comparable... more
Regulatory Corin received FDA approval for its Cormet Hip Resurfacing System on Tuesday, following an approval recommendation from an FDA Advisory panel back in February. Conditions of the official approval include the creation of a surgeon education protocol that emphasizes... more
On Tuesday the FDA approved Corin's Cormet Hip Resurfacing System, introducing competition for Smith & Nephew's Birmingham Hip Resurfacing System in the U.S. Prior to Tuesday's announcement, the BHR was the only resurfacing system approved for the U.S. market. An... more
Regulatory TiGenix submitted an application to market ChondroCelect to European regulatory authority the European Medicines Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products. The application is supported by clinical data comparing ChondroCelect to microfracture, where, according to the company, ChondroCelect was... more
M&A The private equity consortium set to acquire Biomet increased its buyout offer to $46.00 per share in cash, or an equity value of $11.4 billion. The new offer represents a 32.3% premium over the April 2006 common stock closing... more
A DOJ investigation into surgeon compensation practices by Biomet, Depuy, Smith & Nephew, Stryker and Zimmer in 2005 could reach a settlement "as soon as this summer," according to the Star-Ledger's John P. Martin. Current terms of the settlement are... more
Stryker's 1Q:07 earnings call last week highlighted strong profits, but Chief Executive Stephen MacMillan noted a potential snag in its pipeline - OP-1 putty, the company's bone morphogenic protein for spinal fusion indications, may not reach the market until late... more
Last week, we attended the Society for Biomaterials' annual conference. The event showcases the latest academic research and its broad applications across medical specialties. Roughly a third of the poster presentations focused on orthopedics, and most of the rest related... more
Earnings BioMimetic Therapeutics announced 4Q:06 financial results, reporting a net loss of $5.3 million or $0.34 per share and beating analysts' estimates of a loss of $0.37 per share. This compares to a net loss of $9.2 million, or $5.82... more
Today's Wall Street Journal features an article on growth in the orthopedic market. Journalist Karen Richardson indicates that innovative, long-lasting and high-margin products are driving investment opportunities. An aging population and increased life expectancy bode well for manufacturers like Stryker... more
Sunny San Diego hosted this year's AAOS meeting, and with more than 470 exhibitors wall-to-wall on the Convention Center floor, it was the biggest Academy yet. One of our cab drivers said, as we were driving away from the conference... more
Stryker today announced the appointment of Katherine Owens as Vice President, Strategy and Investor Relations. Katherine Owens made a name for herself (formerly Katherine Martinelli) as Merrill Lynch's orthopedics analyst for the past 8 years. She has been a regular... more
Earnings Lifecore Biomedical reported earnings for the second quarter ending December 31, 2006. Net income fell to $1.37 million, or $.10 per diluted share during the quarter from $1.39 or $.10 per diluted share, in the quarter ending December 31,... more
Earnings Stryker announced this week that the Board of Directors has declared a year-end cash dividend of $0.22 per share, an increase of 100% over the $0.11 dividend declared in December 2005. The dividend is payable January 31, 2007 to... more
This morning Smith & Nephew issued a statement confirming speculations that it has been speaking with Biomet. The Company stated that it, "it has held very preliminary talks with the US medical devices company, Biomet Inc. No agreement has been... more
Earnings Dental: Lifecore Biomedical announced that 1Q:07 net sales increased 12% to $15 million. Net income for the quarter was $1.1 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 9%. The Company was in-line with analysts' estimates and reported earnings of $0.08... more
On Tuesday, Stryker Corp. reported $1.3 billion in sales and $188 million in earnings in 3Q:06. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, sales were up by 9.8%, or 10.4% on a reported basis. Net income for the quarter was strong,... more
Appointment: SpineVision® SA has hired Julian Mackenzie as its new Chairman and CEO. Previously, Mr. Mackenzie was with Wright Medical serving as Director General and CFO. Business Update: Donor Referral Services of North Carolina is at the center of a... more
As we have previously discussed in several posts, since April the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has planned to release new Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) regulations for FY 2007. Late Tuesday CMS issued this much-anticipated IPPS rule,... more
Earnings Results: Biologics: Anika Therapeutics announced 2Q:06 net sales increased 11% to $7.1 million. Product revenues grew 74% while licensing, milestone and contract revenue was down 77%. The large product sales growth was partially driven by higher demand for OrthoVisc®;... more
In yesterday's quarterly report press release Zimmer shared more information on the nature of the recent DOJ investigations into the Orthopedics Industry. The ongoing investigation is related to a price-fixing scheme, initiated by one of Zimmer's competitors at a specific... more
Thursday, Stryker Corporation reported its 2Q:06 operating results. Net sales increased 9.0% to $1.33 billion, slightly below analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Operating income rose 16% and net income more than 20%. Diluted EPS for 2Q:06 increased 20.9% to $0.52,... more
Appointment: Biomet, Inc. appointed Charles E. Niemier as President of EBI's operations following the resignation of its former president, Bart J. Doedens, M.D. Mr. Niemier has been a member of the senior management team and Board of Directors for more... more
Smith & Nephew announced today that it had received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, for documents relating to possible antitrust issues over the manufacture and sale of orthopedic implant devices, joining its peers Zimmer, Biomet,... more
Appointment: Spine Wave announced that it has elected Ron Pickard to its Board of Directors. In addition to his role on the Board, Mr. Pickard will be actively involved in key projects including the development and commercialization of Spine Wave's... more
Final results for the 26 publicly-traded orthopedic companies* in 1Q:06 showed that orthopedic sales for first quarter increased by 9.2%, as reported. Now that Medtronic has reported its spine revenues, total aggregated sales for those 26 companies came in at... more
Appointment: Stryker Corp. appointed three officers to the company: Luciano Cattani, Vice President, Group President, International; Elizabeth A. Staub, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance, Stryker Corporation and Bronwen R. Taylor, Chief Compliance Officer, Stryker Corporation. Mr. Cattani... more
The first group of orthopedic companies reported their 1Q:06 this week and took in $5.3 billion so far. The total aggregated revenues for the quarter were up by 7% from $4.9 billion in 1Q:05. The industry netted $637.8 million, a... more
Many orthopedic companies will be reporting their 1Q:06 results in the next few weeks. The table below provides a listing of conference call dial-in numbers and webcasts for the investment community. How the overall orthopedic industry fared in the first... more
Looking ahead to the AAOS 73rd Annual Meeting on March 22-26, 2006 taking place at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, we wanted to post the latest information on Company Analyst meetings that will be held in Chicago: -... more
There has been a lot of focus over the past six months on pricing in the orthopedic device market. Two topics generating fear have been (1) HCA's purchasing practices and (2) gainsharing. This week, Melissa Davis of The Street.com wrote... more
Johnson & Johnson began the earnings season earlier this week and disappointed investors with a rather strange phenomenon. Every one of JNJ's reporting divisions' revenue growth rates were significantly lower than their year-end growth rates. DePuy was no exception. DePuy... more
On Tuesday, Stryker announced that it had acquired PlasmaSol Corporation on December 30, 2005 for approximately $17.5 million in an upfront payment and the assumption of certain liabilities. Stryker stated that the transaction will result in a 4Q:05 charge of... more
[Editor's note: We welcome attorney Susan Berson of Mintz, Levin as a guest blogger. See her profile here.] Earlier this year, the government announced investigations of several device manufacturers charging that the manufacturers were offering inappropriate incentives to referring physicians... more
This article was co-authored by Huyen Nguyen and John McCormick. As we move into the fourth quarter earnings calendar, we look back to third quarter reported earnings with some interesting thoughts. (1) Due to natural disasters, some major orthopedic players... more
It has never been empirically proven that insider (e.g. management and director) buying of a company's stock guarantees that the stock poised to rise, but it has also never been proven to be a bad sign. That's stating the obvious.... more
Is Wall Street's shrill reaction to hip and knee implant pricing concerns overblown? Even with sophisticated econometric tools such a question is difficult to evaluate because we are dealing with an expectations driven phenomenon. So we have our doubts about... more
Some orthopedic stocks declined as two of the big five ortho-companies reported their 3Q:05 earnings this week. Stryker Corp. and DePuy (division of JNJ) both reported top line sales growing at 14%. On Tuesday, Stryker reported below street's estimates by... more
Stryker released its 3Q:05 earnings report after the close of trading today. The Company reported revenues of $1,172 million which was a 14% increase over the 3Q:04. Adjusted earnings-per-share (diluted) totaled $0.40 which was a 21% increase over the 3Q:04,... more
The decline in the valuations of the orthopedic stock prices has reached epic proportions. The 7 leading orthopedic companies which derive a majority of their revenues from hip and knee sales are on average 30% off their 52-Week Highs. Biomet... more
It's all about spine this week. With NASS in full swing in Philadelphia, many companies eagerly issued press releases during the conference. Clinical: Cervical-Stim® is a post-operative cervical brace that generates a uniformed, low-level pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) at the... more
It's all about spine this week. With NASS in full swing in Philadelphia, many companies eagerly issued press releases during the conference. Clinical: Cervical-Stim® is a post-operative cervical brace that generates a uniformed, low-level pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) at the... more
The rate of growth in the hip market has been somewhat lackluster since the 2Q:04. That quarter marked the first two FDA approvals for ceramic-on-ceramic hips for Stryker and Wright Medical. For the 12 months prior to the 2Q:04, Stryker... more
Thanks to one of our readers who reminded me that I should add international dial-in numbers to the conference calls list. Since most of the companies have already reported their earnings, I am providing you with replay information in case... more
Appointment: Tutogen Medical appointed Terry Hill, MD to Director of Quality Assurance and Quality Control. He has worked with various tissue banks prior to joining Tutogen. Clinical Update: At the 12th International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST) Conference, Dr.... more
The NYT runs an astute roundup (registration required) of the the "depressing" delay by some insurers to cover Charite surgery. they note the market tumult that might be caused by possible FDA approval of Synthes' ProDisc, Medtronic's Maverick, and Stryker's... more
About six months ago I had an individual come into my office asking about an article he had recently read in a local newspaper regarding hip resurfacing. The man was approximately 40 years old and was too young for a... more
With most of the major large joint market share leaders reporting their 1Q:05 financials, we examine the strength of the market. At first glance revenue growth of hip products seems to be slowing while knee growth accelerates. Hips We estimate... more
In the past few years, we have seen many new spine companies emerge with innovative technologies in the disc arthroplasty market. We did a quick search in our own HealthpointCapital proprietary orthopedic database and found that there are approximately 35... more
SYK reported 1Q:05 revenues of $1.2 billion which was a 16% increase over the 1Q:04 and beat analyst expectations by $2 million. The Company reported earnings of $0.42 per diluted share which was $0.02 better than analyst were forecasting. The... more
The healthcare industry has long been the subject of regulation by complex laws that do not exist in other industries and which, under certain circumstances, may seem almost excessive and counter-intuitive. The enforcement of these laws has been significant and... more
We have aggregated the 4Q:04 and 3Q:04 reported revenues (includes the effects of foreign currency) for 16 public orthopedic companies. Although we would have liked to use revenue growth rates which excluded foreign currency, a majority of the companies report... more
This year we attended Smith & Nephew's, Biomet's, Stryker's, and Encore Medical's analyst meetings. All were very professional and well attended. Here are our notes from each: Smith & Nephew Overview: Although Smith & Nephew posted the best large joint... more
Stryker reported 4Q:04 revenues of $1.156 billion which was an increase of 15% on a reported basis over the 3Q:04. This was slightly below analyst expectations of $1.158 billion in revenues. Earnings for the 4Q:04 totaled $0.40 per diluted share... more
Direct-to-consumer advertising has become the most powerful means of marketing pharmaceuticals over the last decade. For years we have seen these strange advertisements which typically only mention the name of a drug and the manufacturer, but withhold any information regarding... more
He doesn't look old enough to retire. And when he started, he didn't look old enough to be CEO. Yet 27 years after becoming Stryker's CEO, John Brown is letting go and stepping down. The man walking in the door... more
Three of the seven leading large joint orthopedic manufacturers have reported their 3Q:04 financials. So far, market growth rates on a constant currency basis remain in-line with the growth rates reported by industry leaders DePuy, Biomet and Stryker in the... more
Last week Stryker announced it was offering $120 million in cash, plus as much as double that amount in future royalties to buy a 'second generation' disc arthroplasty implant. The implant, developed by SpineCore, is a single piece (three components... more
With DePuy, Stryker and Biomet reporting during the last three weeks, this is a good time to identify specific topics imperative to the remainder of the sector's earnings releases over the next several weeks. Large Joint Companies Earnings 2Q:04 Reports... more
SYK reported earnings totaled $152.7 million or $0.37 per diluted share during the 2Q:04. This 42% increase over the 2Q:03 beat analyst expectations by $0.03. It also triggered several analyst downgrades including First Albany, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.... more
We couldn't help but come to the following conclusion after reading RTI's Stryker notice last week: Stryker has accomplished the interesting task of contracting with the industry's #2 bone void fill supplier for soft tissue, and the industry's soft tissue... more
Fill the salesman's bag. Advance the art and practice of orthopedics. Create superior returns for your shareholders. None of these are possible without the FDA's initial and ongoing approval. So far this year, the FDA has granted 214 orthopedic device... more
Device Applicant 510(k) Decision Date 1 acumed lower extremity congruent plate s acumed llc K033639 1/15/2004 2 titanium cannulated interference screw advanced biomaterial K033749 2/23/2004 3 aesculap absorbable craniofix aesculap, inc. K040080 3/31/2004 4 abc caudal and cranial extension... more
We tabulated the five largest general orthopedic companies' financial results for the 1Q:04. The companies include Stryker, Zimmer, Biomet, Smith & Nephew and Wright Medical, each of which has a market capitalization in excess of $1 billion. Although many subscribers... more
DePuy and Stryker Corp. both reported their 1Q:04 earnings during the last week of trading activities. This provided some insight into both the strength of the Large Joint Orthopedic market and how the additional orthopedic companies will report during the... more
With InFuse® (BMP 2) selling at a rate of $1 million per day for Medtronic's Sofamor Danek subsidiary, the news that Stryker Corporation has received approval to sell OP-1 (BMP 7) for spinal indications is significant news. Three years ago,... more
Stryker Corp. (SYK:NYSE), in similar fashion to last year, brought and introduced a majority of its operational leaders of its various operating divisions. However, a significant portion of the analyst meeting, especially Q&A, centered around Stephen MacMillan, President & COO,... more
Stryker (SYK) reported that revenues totaled $1.1 billion in 4Q:03 and $3.63 billion for the full year 2003. This represented a 21% and a 20% increase over the respective periods last year. The increase in revenues helped drive a 27%... more
At the 78th annual reunion of the Société Française de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologique (SO.F.C.O.T.) held last week in Paris, the focus was clearly on new materials - ceramics, plastics and biologics. And among the most successful new materials companies... more
That's a 26% year-over-year rate of revenue growth. On a constant currency basis, the growth rate was 19%. To put this in context, for all of 2003, Stryker's orthopedic revenue growth was 18%, on a constant currency basis 17%. For... more
The most valuable orthopedic company in world according to Wall Street is Stryker (SYK:NYSE) at $13.9 billion. With sales this year expected to top $3.5 billion and earnings to clear $2.15 per share, Wall Street is willing to pay 32x... more
Exhibit A: Stryker Exhibit B: Interpore Cross Not to pick on Merrill Lynch... but, and we quote, "Product mix benefit may slow a tad... we suspect this mix benefit has been largely realized." Cementless hip stems, metal on metal components... more
As the following table illustrates, revenue growth rates for the first week of earnings season are ranging from 15% for Interpore Cross to 32% for Synvisc' (sold by Genzyme Biosurgery). The DePuy and Stryker (#1 and #2 orthopedic market share,... more
Earnings season starts this week with the Tuesday, April 15th release of DePuy/Acromed's first quarter results (as buried in JNJ's release) and continues until mid-May when Sofamor Danek's numbers for the April quarter (Medtronic, Sofamor Danek's parent, is on an... more
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