This year has seen a lot of activity in the spine industry. Following Medtronic's acquisition of Mazor Robotics last year, the company further bolstered its presence in the market by completing the acquisition of Titan Spine at the start of July.
First-quarter sales for Globus Medical were up nearly 5 percent year over year and Aurora Spine achieved its best ever quarter this year.
Here's how eight medical device companies are performing in spine.
1. Johnson & Johnson reported orthopedic sales dropped 2.1 percent in the first quarter, hitting $2.2 billion. Spine and other sales were down 5.5 percent internationally and flat in the U.S., hitting $465 million.
2. Stryker reported 8.5 percent net sales growth in the first quarter of 2019. Orthopedics net sales were up 2.8 percent to $1.3 billion and neurotechnology and spine sales were up 20.7 percent to $700 million.
3. Medtronic reported fourth quarter revenue increased 2 percent to $30.5 billion, but the spine business saw a slight decline last year. Spine revenue hit $652 million for overall fiscal year 2019 first quarter revenue quarter, a 0.5 percent increase over the same period last year.
4. NuVasive’s first quarter revenue reached $274.8 million, a 5.5 percent increase year over year. Gross profit hit $200.3 million and reported GAAP net income was $9.4 million.
5. Zimmer Biomet reported spine and craniomaxillofacial sales as $183 million for the quarter.
6. Globus Medical reported sales up nearly 5 percent year over year to $182.9 million, while net income dropped 16 percent to $33.2 million.
7. Alphatec reported a slight increase in first quarter net revenue for 2019. Reported revenue hit $24.6 million, up roughly 15 percent compared to the same period last year.
8. Aurora Spine reported its strongest ever quarter in May with first-quarter revenues of $2.73 million.
Chairman and CEO of Medtronic, Omar Ishrak anticipates "revenue growth to accelerate over the course of the fiscal year 2020 and into fiscal year 2021, driven by the anniversary of recent headwinds, combined with a series of major product launches over the next 12 months." The company reported full year revenue growth of 2 percent to $30.5 billion and forecasts 4 percent revenue growth for the 2020 fiscal year.
Stryker expects organic net sales growth will be 6.8 percent to 7.5 percent, with expected adjusted net earnings per diluted share hitting $8.05 to $8.20. U.S. sales were up 11.5 percent to $2.5 billion while international sales increased 1.1 percent to $937 million.
During the first quarter, NuVasive launched the X360 System for lateral single-position surgery with integrated surgical intelligence technology. Earlier this month, the company launched its Pulse system, which is designed to feature multiple technologies to assist surgeons in adopting more efficient and less disruptive surgical methods in spine procedures.
In the first quarter, Zimmer Biomet paid down $110 million of debt and plans to use most of its $284 million cash flow to continue decreasing debt throughout the year. Spine and craniomaxillofacial sales were flat at $183 million for the quarter. The company reported a 1.2 percent decline in sales in the Americas, hitting $1.2 billion.
Although Johnson & Johnson’s reported orthopedic sales dropped 2.1 percent in the first quarter, hitting $2.2 billion, Chris DelOrefice, vice president of investor relations, said during a first quarter conference call that the company is continuing "to see stabilization of performance driven by new products such as the Viper Prime system for minimally invasive surgery and Expedium Verse, our all-in-one pedicle screw system for deformity."
Globus Medical's first-quarter sales were up almost 5 percent year over year to $182.9 million, however net income dropped 16 percent to $33.2 million. U.S. sales were up 1.3 percent year over year for the first quarter, due to lower robotics sales compared to the first quarter of last year. However, international sales skyrocketed 23 percent.
Since the beginning of the year Alphatec launched four of six of its IdentiTi implant systems for use in spinal fusions. It also received FDA clearance for the SafeOp Advanced Automated Neuromonitoring System. For the full year, the company expects to report revenue of $98 million to $103 million, with U.S. product revenue up 13 percent to 17 percent.
Aurora Spine's gross profit increased to $1.16 million in the first quarter, a year-over-year increase of more than $287,000. "We are pleased that our efforts are beginning to create value for our shareholders," said Aurora Spine President and CEO, Trent Northcutt. "We will look to extend our technology position further with minimally disruptive procedural solutions for the spine."