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The turning of the calendar is a natural time to reflect on what was and look ahead to what’s next. Here are 10 orthopedic companies that landed on our radar last year and demand our continued attention based on conversations we’ve had with renowned experts, what we’ve heard at industry conferences and the expert insights of ORTHOWORLD’s Senior Market Analyst Mike Evers.
Enovis
Enovis began the new year by completing its $846 million acquisition of LimaCorporate. The deal adds custom 3D-printed implants to the Enovis product portfolio and is expected to help the company eclipse $1 billion in annual joint replacement sales by next year. Enovis continues to make rapid inroads in the foot and ankle segment and expand its global footprint, factors that are worth monitoring moving forward.
“We are confident the acquisition of LimaCorporate will enable us to build on our strong growth trajectory and global leadership in orthopedic solutions to create immediate and sustainable value for our patients, customers, employees and shareholders,” said Matt Trerotola, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Enovis.
Globus Medical
Globus Medical’s $3.1 billion acquisition of NuVasive created the second largest player in spine, behind only Medtronic in market share. Medtronic (21.5% spine market share), Globus Medical (17.5%) and Stryker (11.4%) generate more than $1 billion in annual spine hardware sales and now control half of the market.
All eyes will be on Globus Medical’s leadership during the continued integration of NuVasive. The successful blending of the companies and their reportedly disparate cultures could mean the difference between a successful merger that will have a significant impact on the spine market or the beginning of another failed integration in the segment.
So far so good, according to Globus Medical CEO Dan Scavilla.
“The rates and the depth at which I see the teams working together is amazing,” he said during a November earnings call. “We’re creating a great deal of disruption. That creates uncertainty, and folks are looking to get answers. What I’d like to do is move at a faster pace. The sooner we can create a steady state, the better.”
ATEC
Last year, ATEC generated about $472 million in total sales, a 34.6% increase from 2022. The spine company is poised to capture additional market share due to the Globus/NuVasive merger and Orthofix’s C-suite shuffling, which could send additional sales reps and distributors to the growth-minded firm.
ATEC’s EOS Imaging platform and newly acquired REMI robot spine navigation system provide a specialized enabling technology portfolio that can be leveraged into significant growth that has the company on the rise.
THINK Surgical
In October, THINK Surgical received FDA 510(k) clearance for its TMINI Miniature Robotic System, an innovative platform that features wireless handpieces designed to help surgeons locate bone pins and make precise cuts during knee replacement surgery. TMINI is based on an open implant library concept that’s intended to attract a broad customer base and increase the adoption of robotic guidance.
Stuart Simpson, THINK Surgical’s President and CEO, recently discussed selling the value proposition of an open-concept robot to implant companies.
“I’ve been in this market for 25 years, and I’ve been competing with those companies fiercely for all of that time,” he said. “I’m not competing with any implant company anymore. I view them all as potential customers.”
Simpson wants to secure deals with 30% of the knee replacement customer base. Doing so, he believes, will force the big players who control nearly 75% of the knee replacement implant market to buy into THINK Surgical’s open platform concept.
The knee replacement robot market will be turned upside down when that happens. We’ll be watching to find out if it does.
Moximed
Moximed’s MISHA Knee is an implantable shock absorber that’s designed to reduce joint load and pain in osteoarthritis (OA) sufferers. The device is placed outside of the joint, under the skin, with no bone cutting or altering of anatomy required. It received De Novo clearance last April and was used in the first commercial case in September. Research has shown that the implant provides functional improvement and is safe to use in patients with medial knee OA.
The device is part of a growing movement in orthopedics that’s aimed at developing intermediate treatment options for OA sufferers who are unwilling or unqualified for knee replacement surgery.
Anton Clifford, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Moximed, said increasing numbers of surgeons and patients across the U.S. are requesting access to the MISHA Knee System. Still, the company remains committed to a gradual rollout with an emphasis on providing surgeons with quality education regarding the implant’s use. It will be interesting to see the strides the company makes in 2024.
Anika Therapeutics
Anika announced the full market launch of its RevoMotion Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty (RSA) System last September. The company is positioned to capitalize on the shoulder replacement market, which is estimated to grow at an 11% Compound Annual Growth Rate through 2026. RevoMotion RSA was designed with the unique needs of the ASC in mind.
“The shoulder is a big driver of care in the ASC,” said Ben Joseph, Anika Therapeutic’s Vice President of Commercial and Corporate Development. “It’s a fast-growing segment and we’re excited to be in it.”
Stryker
Stryker continues to maintain its spot atop the orthopedic market with more than $10 billion in sales last year. But can the biggest of the big players address its struggles in spine and start to gain traction in the segment?
There’s hope on the horizon, according to CEO Kevin Lobo, who said during a November earnings call that the company’s Mako spine application is due for introduction in Q3 of this year. Lobo believes that enabling technology is a key to success in the space.
The Mako spine platform is designed for pedicle screw placement and boasts a seamless and efficient workflow, according to Lobo. He pointed out that Stryker is launching a companion product within Mako’s digital ecosystem that will guide the robot to make precise bone cuts.
“I believe that we’ll go from being behind the competition to ahead of the market with the simultaneous launch of the two products, which will provide surgeons with a fabulous digital ecosystem,” Lobo said.
Osteal Therapeutics
Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) are associated with an elevated risk of mortality in knee replacement patients and individuals older than 65 years. PJI patients who undergo the standard two-stage exchange arthroplasty to remove the infected implant and insert a bone cement-impregnated spacer often experience an incomplete recovery.
That’s according to David Thompson, President and CEO of Osteal Therapeutics, which offers an effective alternative to the standard treatment option. The company’s VTX 7 drug/device delivers high concentrations of vancomycin and tobramycin to the infected joint space for seven days after a two-stage exchange arthroplasty procedure to significantly lower treatment time for PJI and improve success rates.
In December, FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for VTX 7.
“Considering the substantial costs associated with the standard two-stage exchange arthroplasty, our value-based analyses predict high appeal among payors, hospitals and surgeons,” Thompson said. “We foresee ourselves as the future standard of care in this domain, notably as the first product in the U.S. market specifically approved to treat PJIs.”
Treace Medical
Treace Medical believes that the U.S. bunion surgery market represents a largely untapped $5 billion opportunity, and the company intends to capitalize with focused efforts from a dedicated sales team and a line of innovative solutions in the foot and ankle space.
The public company is expected to report 2023 sales of about $184 million, an increase of 30% over 2022.
Treace Medical remains a growth company and is poised for a strong 2024.
“We expect our expanding commercial capabilities, continued adoption of Lapiplasty, and multiple new product launches will drive strong growth while we also advance our pipeline opportunities,” said CFO Mark Hair. “We believe our product portfolio, differentiated and protected technologies, and focused salesforce provide us with the advantages that will enable us to grow significantly faster than the market and our foot and ankle peers for multiple years.”
Artelon
Artelon is focused on improving ligament and tendon repair surgery with a proprietary biomaterial that reinforces soft tissue. In June 2023, the company received FDA 510(k) clearances for FlexBand, FlexPatch and FlexBand Plus for the reinforcement of medial, lateral and ulnar collateral ligaments, spring ligaments, deltoid ligaments and extra-articular ligaments.
CEO Aaron Smith said that Artelon is eyeing substantial opportunities to treat chronic ankle instability, Achilles tendon disease, flatfoot deformity, syndesmotic injuries and other foot repairs, which represent over a billion dollars in potential market share.
“Recent innovation in our space has been mostly focused on fixation of ligaments to bone, but little has been done to address failure of the ligament tissues themselves, which are often diseased and may lead to poor surgical outcomes,” he said. “With limited competition, we stand at the forefront with proven technology, positioning ourselves strongly in these markets,” he added. “We anticipate sustained growth and aim to expand our market share further by targeting adjacent indications.”
