Should Stryker Worry About Zimmer’s New Robotics Offering?

October 30, 2018 Business, Medical Devices, Orthopedics, Robotics, Sales, Stryker, Zimmer Biomet

Zimmer Biomet is expected to launch a robot soon that will compete with Stryker’s Mako Total Knee offering.

Stryker’s Mako Total Knee offering continues to gain traction and drive growth for the Kalamazoo, MI-based orthopedics company, but the company faces imminent competition in the space from Warsaw, IN-based Zimmer Biomet.

During Stryker’s third-quarter earnings call, CEO Kevin Lobo said the company is approaching 600 robots globally, and Lobo said he feels bullish about the future of robotic-assisted surgery.

Katherine Owen, vice president of strategy and investor relations at Stryker, said 37 Mako robots were installed globally during the third quarter, with 26 of those installs being in the United States. Comparing those numbers to the same quarter last year, Owen said 33 Mako robots were installed in the year-ago quarter, with 23 of those installs being in the U.S. market.

Owen also noted that more than 50% of robots installed during the recent quarter were in competitive accounts where Stryker either has no market share or share well below the company’s average number. Also, she said about 145 surgeons were trained on the Total Knee application, bringing the total number of surgeons trained since launch to about 1,350. As for procedure volume, Owen said roughly 11,300 Mako Total Knee procedures were performed with the robot during the third quarter in the United States.

Zimmer Biomet is currently waiting for FDA approval of its Rosa robotics knee application and in Australia, the first five procedures have already been done. CEO Bryan Hanson told analysts during Zimmer Biomet’s third-quarter earnings call to expect the full launch of that product in the back half of 2019.

By Amanda Pedersen | MD+DI

Image Credit: Amanda Pedersen / MD+DI

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About Peter Coffaro 555 Articles

A growth-driven and strategic executive, Peter Coffaro commands more than 20 years of progressive management success within the orthopedic industry. Recognized by MedReps.com as one of the top medical sales influencers in the industry; he has 10 years of combined sales management experience and has held positions as a Director, General Manager and Distributor. Peter has worked for some of the top orthopedic companies in the world - Zimmer, DePuy and Stryker. He is also the founder of OrthoFeed: a popular blog that covers orthopedic news and emerging medical technologies. Peter is a three-time Hall of Fame award winner at Johnson and Johnson and has an extensive background in organizational development, business development, sales management, digital marketing and professional education. Peter holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Northern Illinois University.