ZimVie in 2023 saw decreases in its revenue, but the company also saw milestones in its spine portfolio.
Here are five things to know for the year ahead:
1. ZimVie saw year-over-year sales dipped in the first, second and third quarters of 2023. In the third quarter, U.S. spine third party net sales decreased 10.2%. That was driven by "competitive pressure in core spine and one less selling day and partially offset by a relative improvement in Mobi-C and the tether," CFO Rich Heppenstall said in a Nov. 1 earnings call.
2. ZimVie in May announced plans to lay off 5% of its global workforce this year. The company also plans to reduce discretionary spending, with the changes expected to save $17 million to $20 million in annualized net savings by 2024. ZimVie isn't alone in its plans to lay off staff. Medtronic, Stryker and DePuy Synthes also announced plans to cut jobs in 2023.
3. ZimVie reached milestones with some of its spine products. Its vertebral body tethering system has been used in more than 2,000 cases as of Oct. 24. Its Mobi-C cervical disc implant also reached a milestone with 200,000 cases done as of January. A 4.5mm version of that disc also made its U.S. debut this year in October.
4. ZimVie has its eyes on studying its cervical disc further. The FDA gave the company hybrid investigational device exemption for the Mobi-C cervical disc. The approval paves the way for ZimVie to enroll U.S. patients in a study that will assess cervical disc replacement adjacent to a spinal fusion, according to a news release. Participants will receives simultaneous cervical disc replacement and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion between levels C3 and C7.
5. ZimVie's stock soared in July amid rumors of takeover interest. According to Seeking Alpha, the company is working with an unknown bank in response to inbound takeover interest. However the company hasn't shared any details about the rumors.