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In a Red-Hot Orthopedics Market, Zimmer buys Implex

Zimmer's acquisition of Implex Corp. for slightly greater than $100 million is, in some respects, the natural culmination of a standing alliance between the two companies. But it's also interesting for the way in which it seems to embrace all of orthopedics' hot spots. Building on Implex's innovative Hedrocel biomaterial, Zimmer has already developed hip, knee, and shoulder implants, as well as trauma products, out of the collaboration, and has announced that seven development projects are underway. At the same time, this is also clearly a spine play: Implex had developed a line of spine products out of its material, which have already begun to be implanted in Europe and the US, and Zimmer said in announcing the deal that it intends to expand that spine business by incorporating it into Zimmer's own spine division.

Who would have predicted just a couple of years ago that orthopedics would vie to replace cardiovascular as the hottest deal marketplace in medical devices? For some, the sudden and growing interest in orthopedics is due to the industry's attractive nature: during the past several years, it has been one of the strongest performers, in terms of revenue and stock price growth, and it is one device segment where surgeon prerogative in product selection remains strong. In addition, favorable demographics promises even more: an aging Baby Boomer generation is hitting its 50s and 60s, arriving with both more musculo-skeletal injuries and ailments and an attitude that it wants to live well, not just pain free.

For others, the robust deal activity signals a long-overdue consolidation in an industry that, for all its success, has played...

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