From Hips to Knees: An Analyst's Takeaway from AAOS 2013 (ODT)
The big takeaway from this year’s annual meeting of the America Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) was knees, knees and more knees. All the big orthopedic players had offerings on the table—Johnson & Johnson had its Attune knee system (marketed by JNJ’s DePuy Synthes Companies); Zimmer introduced its Persona knee; Smith and Nephew showcased its Journey II bi-cruciate stabilized knee replacement; and, according to Leerink Swann analyst Richard Newitter, Stryker “continues to see a positive contribution from its direct-to-consumer marketing initiative for its Get Around knee.”
“[Companies] seem to be stressing certain characteristics that both physicians and patients are drawn to, including customization, more efficiency in the operating room for physicians, more implant sizing options, and more simplified instrumentation in the OR (operating room),” Newitter said. Every stage of the game in knee procedures is getting attention, from the pre-operative planning process, the instrumentation, and the actual shaping and production of the implant.
This year, why knees? Newitter explained that in the past several years,...
