Q317 Soft Tissue Fixation Market: Flat Growth vs Q217

The Soft Tissue Fixation Market saw flat QoQ growth in Q317, as a mix of supply chain issues, increasing competition, specialized sales forces and seasonality caused the major players to take one step forward and one step backward during the quarter.

By Kristina Meyer, Sr Analyst, Sports Medicine

Although soft tissue fixation growth in the US was up YoY, growth was nearly flat as compared with Q217. In a specialty where many surgeries are elective, seasonality plays a part. Case volumes often dip during summer months as both surgeons and patients take vacations. In contrast, case volumes typically rebound heavily in Q4 as deductibles renew the first of each year. Most of the major players in the soft tissue fixation market, including  Arthrex,  Smith & Nephew  (SNN),  Zimmer Biomet  (ZBH) and CONMED Linvatec (CNMD) took one step forward in Q317 and one step back. 

Q317 OrthoBio Market: Hurricane related disruptions

Hurricane related disruptions, competition and sales force dynamics impacts third quarter results

By Kim French, Senior Analyst, SmartTRAK OrthoBio

For Q317, the US OrthoBio Market grew substantially, compared to Q316. Both positive and negative developments are impacting company results. Positive happenings include increased revenue generation from synergistic sales strategies, market share capture and expansion of new users or new products. Companies experiencing lower than expected performance report hurricane related disruptions, slow ramp-up of sales force expansion, product portfolio gaps and market share loss due to increased competition.

Q317 Extremities Market: Boost from New Products Offsets Challenges

New products and market segment penetration somewhat offsets slowing growth due to challenges faced by large industry players

By Lisa Mahan, VP, Content Development, Ortho and
Natasha Weeks, Editor/Sr. Analyst–Trauma

Large market players faced challenges that slightly dampened Q317 growth in the US Extremities market, with sequential growth down. Above market growth from smaller companies launching new products and increasing market penetration somewhat offset the negative effects of  Zimmer Biomet ’s supply issues on the largest market segment – Shoulder Replacement.

Q317 Spine Market Recap: Softer Procedural Volumes – But Why?

The WW Spine Hardware Market (excluding biologics) was flat in Q317, driven by softer procedure volumes. But Why? SmartTRAK analyzes what’s behind the market slowdown.  

By Julianne Burns, Senior Analyst Spine 

Market Softening

The WW Spine Hardware market (excluding biologics) was flat in Q317. US Spine Hardware revenues were down very slightly and the US Fusion market was down according to the SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard.

Don Urbanowicz of Urbanowicz Consulting interviews John Pracyk, MD of DePuy Synthes, Adam Wollowick, MD of Stryker Spine, and Bob Kinsella of Kinsella Group regarding trends and transactions in the spine market in a pre-NASS panel discussion entitled “From the Operating Room to the OEM.”

Capital One, BioMedGPS and Kinsella Group sponsored a panel discussion prior to the 2017 NASS meeting covering a variety of topics. The discussion, featured in the excerpt below, focuses on “From the Operating Room to the OEM” with John Pracyk, MD, PhD, MBA, FAANS, FACS, Spine Franchise Medical Leader at DePuy Synthes; Adam Wollowick, MD, MBA, Senior Director of Business Development at Stryker Spine; Bob Kinsella, President of Kinsella Group; and Don Urbanowicz, Principal of Urbanowicz Consulting (Moderator).

Q317 Total Joints Market: More than the Usual SeasonalityMajor hurricanes in the US lead to softness in the quarter  

By Lisa Mahan, VP, Content Development, Ortho

The Imperfect Storms

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma disrupted procedures in the US during Q3 slowing growth beyond the typical seasonality. In the US, Q317 Total Joints Market growth was virtually flat YoY.

At the 2017 Orthopedic Summit (OSET) meeting in Las Vegas, Mark Foster, Trice Medical’s Chief Commercialization Officer and VP of Worldwide Sales, spoke with SmartTRAK's Kristina Meyer about the Company’s revolutionary new technology that is improving the way orthopedic injuries are diagnosed. Trice Medical’s newest product, mi-eye 2, is a fully disposable, integrated camera (the size of a 14-gauge needle) with plug-and-play technology that is FDA cleared to provide illumination and visualization during diagnostic and operative arthroscopic and endoscopic procedures. These procedures can be performed in the clinic setting and provide patients with immediate and definitive diagnoses while significantly reducing the overall cost to the healthcare system.

A transcript of SmartTRAK’s interview with Trice Medical is below, as is the video interview, recorded live at the 2017 OSET meeting: (11:27 min.) 

 SmartTRAK reviews hot topics from the fall Spine meetings and identifies bright spots in an otherwise soft Spine market.

As we look forward to Q4 and year-end results, a busy fall meeting season comes to a close. This year, industry and analysts alike looked eagerly to the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and North American Spine Society (NASS) meetings in the hopes of nailing down some of the new, softer dynamics emerging in the Spine market. Q3 results seem to uphold the theory that the market is challenged, but bright spots remain as companies showcased myriad new interbody platforms and materials, and a few new robotics systems.

SmartTRAK's President & CEO Sharon O'Reilly attended DKOU2017, the German Congress of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, in Berlin Oct. 24-27, 2017 and uncovered several new and innovative orthopedic, trauma and spine technologies on the exhibit floor.

This week, the SmartTRAK blog is featuring video interviews from DKOU highlighting new companies and products emerging from Europe.

Next up ...

Leanna Caron, EVP & CCO and Dr. James Howe, Founder & CMO - AgNovos Healthcare: A minimally invasive injectable technique for stabilizing osteoporotic hips 

SmartTRAK's President & CEO Sharon O'Reilly attended DKOU2017, the German Congress of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, in Berlin Oct. 24-27, 2017 and uncovered several new and innovative orthopedic, trauma and spine technologies on the exhibit floor.

This week, the SmartTRAK blog is featuring video interviews from DKOU highlighting new companies and products emerging from Europe.

Next up ...

Peter Kohlbecher, Director, Sales & Marketing of Joline GMBH - Quattroplasty: a novel four balloon technique for reducing vertebral compression fractures