On Jan. 28, Stryker Corp. announced plans to sell its U.S. spinal implant business to investment firm Viscogliosi Brothers.
Though Stryker has a major share in the U.S. spine and orthopedic market, surgeons are predicting that the sale will not cause any major shakeups in the industry.
Lali Sekhon, MD, PhD, a spine surgeon at Reno (Nev.) Orthopedic Center, believes that for Stryker, its slow-to-innovate spine line was not worth the effort.
It is still to be seen what will come next for Stryker's portfolio of spine products.
Question: Do you think Stryker's selloff will change the spine industry in any way?
Dr. Lali Sekhon: I think we have to wait and see. Stryker is really a hip-and-knee company and [that] always has been as its primary directive. The spine part was the ugly stepchild. They never seemed to increase market share to threaten the top three players. Their products were pretty generic and the best thing about them was their K2M portfolio, which was aging. So you have a company that was slow to innovate, but had about 10% market share in the U.S. spine market that decided spine was not worth the effort. What happens next will be up to the Viscogliosi brothers and the team at VB Spine. The product line needs a refresh. VB Spine could threaten the big players Medtronic and Globus Medical, but it will take more than just buying Stryker's aging spine portfolio to do it. So, for now, for most of us, business as usual.
Q: Is this a sign of more private equity investment to come into the spine and orthopedic space?
LS: I think private equity is everywhere as these investors try to take a piece of healthcare. The orthopedic industry is a $50 million industry in the U.S., with spine about 20% of that. There are a few other companies that could change hands. The real question is, does it lead to innovation and better patient care or is it just a turn and burn? That's been the unfortunate reality when PE buys medical groups. Let's see what happens in spine.