Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1198635
22 DEVICES & IMPLANTS Why 2019 is shaping up to be an important year for Zimmer Biomet — 5 things to know By Angie Stewart T his is an important year for Zimmer Biomet's pipeline and commer- cial strategy, according to Zacks Equity Research. Five insights: 1. Zimmer Biomet's shares grew 10.2 percent in the past six months, out- performing the 8.4 percent industry decline. 2. Zimmer Biomet reported slow top-line growth in the second quarter of 2019 but still beat expectations. The musculoskeletal healthcare company had strong performance in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, and its knee business gained traction in the Americas. 3. However, pricing pressure in the Americas and Europe has been a per- sistent concern for Zimmer Biomet, offsetting its top-line growth. The com- pany's adjusted operating margin was hurt by rising costs and expenses. 4. In recent months, Zimmer Biomet had success with product launches. The company secured a number of regulatory clearances for the ROSA platform's knee, brain and spine applications. It also launched its my mobility digital health platform and the Persona Partial and Cementless partial knee implant. 5. Quality remediation and supply recovery efforts are also priorities for the company. Zimmer Biomet is on track to complete its remediation plan on the Warsaw North campus by the end of the year. n FDA clears Omnia Medical's PEEK cervical vertebral replacement device By Alan Condon T he FDA recently provided 510(k) clearance for Omnia Medical's Boxcar. Four insights: 1. Boxcar is a cervical vertebral body re- placement device, designed with Invibio Biomaterial Solutions' PEEK-Optima hyal- uronic acid polymer. 2. Hydroxyapatite is incorporated into the PEEK-Optima structure of the implant, which aims to improve patient outcomes. 3. The single-use device can be adjusted based on height and lordosis. 4. Boxcar has a hollow center and holes to accommodate autograft or allograft, while promoting bone formation. n Medtronic spine revenue up nearly 1% to $658M; robotics grows while spinal cord stimulation slows: 5 details By Laura Dyrda M edtronic reported a 1.5 percent reve- nue increase in the first quarter of the 2020 fiscal year, hitting $7.5 billion. Five things to know: 1. Medtronic's spine line reported a 0.9 per- cent revenue increase to $658 million for the first quarter. When combined with Medtron- ic's spine and enabling technologies sales — which includes spinal robotics and nav- igation — global spine and U.S. core spine revenues grew in the mid-single digits. 2. Cervical spine sales were up in the mid-sin- gle digits, largely attributed to the Infinity OCT system launch and growth of Prestige LP cervical disc use. 3. Medtronic reported Infuse sales were up in the low double-digits for the quarter, on a constant currency basis. 4. The brain therapies sales, which include the neurosurgery business, reported 9.8 percent revenue growth to $740 million. Double-digit growth of StealthStation S8 surgical navigation systems, O-arm surgi- cal imaging systems and Mazor X robotic guidance system drove the neurosurgery business. 5. Medtronic also reported a 7 percent de- crease in pain therapies revenue for the first quarter, which hit $292 million. The company attributed channel destocking and a slowdown in the spinal cord stimu- lation market for the segment's poor per- formance. n