The corona virus had a huge impact on every industry worldwide in 2020. Last year saw a big transition for big and small corporations, as they struggled to stay afloat amidst the collapsing economics.
According to the statistics of Global Data, the orthopaedic market was worth more than 48 billion dollars prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. The overall value decreased by about 10%, leaving it at less than 44 billion dollars. The main reason for the drastic decline was fewer elective procedures taking place as people became more focused on beating the virus or avoiding infection by minimising exposure to the outdoors.
Zimmer Biomet saw its annual revenue decrease by 12% in the year of the pandemic. Similarly the orthopaedic proceeds generated by Johnson and Johnson also declined by 12% and organic net sales of Stryker went down by around 8%. As far as Stryker is concerned, the loss of revenue was partially due to lowered prices of products, given the lesser volume of demand. Smith and Nephew, an organisation specialising in sports medicine, encountered a financial loss amounting to 13% of their regular income.
As more people have been staying at home since the beginning of 2020, the trend for athletic activities has lessened. As a result, a smaller number of people are facing personal injuries from sports and other outdoor pursuits. The beginning of 2021 brought hope with the introduction of Covid19 vaccines, but the progress is slow. The second and third wave of the virus has yet again been overwhelming, and predictions are that it will take the rest of the year to restore economics. Expectations are that the number of elective orthopaedic surgeries worldwide shall restore to pre-pandemic levels by 2022.
Many corporations have coped well with the recession by applying innovative strategies. Reconstructing the core of a business can be challenging, but rewarding with respect to existing market developments. It is perceptible that Ecommerce has grown exponentially in the year 2020 and remains strong. Zimmer Biomet has decided to invest its resources in the areas of hip, knee, and trauma treatments instead of the spine and dental market this year. Wright Medical was acquired by Stryker last year, as an attempt to expand business and the acquisition helped enhance product portfolios and brought in more customers suffering from trauma and other bodily injuries.
Smith and Nephew has been working on establishing the fastest growing field of orthopaedics, i.e. the extremities business; they recently bought off Integra Life Sciences to support the venture. Investment in robotic systems have continued to rise, despite the deficits created by the pandemic. Zimmer Biomet generated more than a hundred million dollars in the last year, solely from the sales of about 300 robotic surgical assistant (ROSA) knee systems. The robotic knee replacement system has received clearance from FDA, and the company is planning to launch ROSA Hip in the last quarter of this year.
Stryker’s ‘Mako’, Smith and Nephew’s ‘CORI’, and ‘Velys’ by Johnson and Johnson are a few examples of the rise of robotics in the orthopaedic industry. Given the current success rate and statistics, robot assisted orthopaedic procedures are expected to grow by 10% annually. The site of orthopaedic care has also shifted since last year for the sake of reducing the burden on available hospital beds and modern orthopaedic instruments are being tailored for utilisation in ambulatory surgical centres.
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Author Bio
John Adams is a technology enthusiast, always looking to explore the current trends and releases. He also loves travelling and sharing personal experiences through writing. Blogging makes him happy, and he is always open to constructive criticism.
