Top 30 Global Medical Device Companies (MPO)
M&A, chief executive changes, & emerging market growth helped shape the 2017 fiscal performances of the industry’s top firms.
In many ways, 2017 was a year like any other for the medical device elites. Megamergers maintained their annual tradition—last year saw two with Becton Dickinson’s $24 billion deal for C.R. Bard, and Essilor’s 46 billion euro combination with Luxottica. Abbott Labs also reaped the benefits of its union with St. Jude Medical, which closed at the beginning of last year and moved the company four spaces forward in the Top 30 list. The impetus to capture lucrative emerging markets also continued. A number of companies accomplished double-digit growth in these competitive regions last year, with many making impressive gains in the Chinese market.
However, 2017 saw a remarkable amount of leadership shuffling. GE’s Jeff Immelt, who had led the company for 16 years, handed the reins to former GE Healthcare CEO John Flannery in June. David Dvorak also retired last June after a 10-year tenure as head of Zimmer Biomet, relinquishing the throne to former Medtronic executive Bryan Hanson. Both Joe Jimenez of Novartis a...
