Becker's Spine Review

30 DEVICES & IMPLANTS Omar Ishrak's tenure at Medtronic: 5 of the biggest partnerships, product launches By Alan Condon O mar Ishrak's nearly 10-years spent as chairman and CEO of Medtronic will come to an end when he retires April 26. During Mr. Ishrak's time at Medtronic, the company's annual revenues doubled, and its market capitalization increased by more than $100 billion. Geoff Martha, who leads the company's re- storative therapies group and previously oversaw the company's spine business, will succeed Mr. Ishrak April 27. Here are five of the biggest moments in Medtronic's spine division during Mr. Ishrak's tenure: 1. In 2016, Mr. Ishrak spearheaded Medtron- ic's investment in spinal robotics company Mazor Robotics. Medtronic inked a major deal that led to the acquisition of Mazor for about $1.7 billion in December 2018. 2. Medtronic combined its spinal implants, navigation and 3D imaging technology with Mazor's robotic-assisted spine surgery system and launched the Mazor X Stealth Edition system for robotic-assisted spine surgery in January 2019. Last year, more than 50 hospi- tals in the U.S. used the Mazor X system in over 1,000 procedures. 3. In 2015, Medtronic acquired Covidien, a $10 billion global manufacturer of surgical products and supplies. e $42.9 billion tax inversion deal moved Medtronic's corporate headquarters to Dublin, Ireland, availing of the country's low corporation tax. e trans- action was the largest medical technology ac- quisition in the industry's history. 4. e Prestige LP cervical disc system was launched in 2016, expanding the capabilities of the original Prestige cervical disc, released in 2007. Prestige LP is designed for the treat- ment of single-level cervical disc disease, en- abling motion in the neck at the operated lev- els, unlike a fusion surgery. A 2017 study in e Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine reported an 81.4 percent success rate in patients who underwent disc replacement with Prestige LP compared to a 69.4 percent success rate for patients who had an anterior cervical discec- tomy and fusion. 5. Last year, Medtronic acquired Titan Spine, a private company focused on titanium spi- nal implants and surface technology. e deal enables Medtronic to bundle interbod- ies, screws, rods, biologics and enabling technologies — which includes robotics and navigation — for an overall integrated spine solution. e Mazor acquisition is only beginning to show signs of paying off, Mr. Ishrak said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in January. "Our spine business this last year … has had its strongest year, and the robot has played a big role in that." Medtronic plans to expand its robotic tech- nology into general surgery within the next year and Mr. Ishrak is confident the compa- ny will be in good hands under Mr. Martha's leadership. "is [retirement] plan and its timing enable Geoff and I to partner on achieving Medtron- ic's key financial performance goals as well as delivering on our critical pipeline milestones, including several important product launch- es," Mr. Ishrak said. "Geoff is a results-oriented, dynamic and innovative business leader who is passionate and committed to our mission: the advancement of our growth strategy and the development and diversity of our people." n Zimmer Biomet sued for $2.6M by Mexico's health agency By Angie Stewart M exico's federal health agency is suing Zimmer Biomet to recover more than $2.6 million the company allegedly made through a bribery scheme, according to Medtech Insight. The Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social filed a lawsuit Jan. 30 in Indiana federal court. It is seeking a refund on products it purchased from Zimmer Biomet and its prede- cessor between 2008 and 2013, when the devicemaker's Mexican agents allegedly bribed government officials. The lawsuit accuses Biomet, which merged with Zimmer in 2015, of paying government officials nearly $1 million in bribes to allow the illegal sale of unregistered medical products in Mexico. The agency claims that Zimmer Biomet's involvement in the alleged bribery scheme nullifies all contracts the agen- cy has signed with the company since then. The lawsuit re- quests a jury trial. In October 2019, the same federal health agency filed a similar lawsuit seeking a refund for purchases from Stryker, Mass Device reported at the time. The suit alleged that Stryker made more than $2.1 million in profits from illegal contracts after bribing Mexico officials. In 2017, Zimmer Biomet paid the U.S. government $30.5 million to settle the foreign bribery allegations at the cen- ter of Mexico's Jan. 30 lawsuit, Reuters reported. n

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