Can Stryker Get More Surgeons to Use MAKO Robotic Platform? (MDDI blog)
Posted in Implantable Devices by Arundhati Parmar on March 5, 2015
Orthopedics company Stryker has had a tough time integrating the MAKO business especially on the sales side, but the tide could be turning with a sales ramp.
Orthopedics company Stryker shelled out $1.65 billion in acquiring MAKO betting on a future where hip and knee surgeries would be robotically assisted.
It was a bold move, but by executives' own admission the sales integration has been tougher that expected. It's no surprise then that MAKO did not contribute much to overall revenue last year. A new analyst report on a survey of 50 orthopedics surgeons found that only eight of them currently use MAKO products in hip and knee surgeries. But that may soon be changing.
In a research report Glenn Novarro, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets said that the three-most commonly cited reasons by surgeons for not using MAKO were lack of clinical benefits, the high price tag and a need for more clinical data.
MAKO's RIO system reportedly costs $1 million up front.
Given this sentiment, can Stryker get more surgeons to use MAKO? The answer, a...
