Knees Boost Zimmer Biomet; Turnaround Continues, But FDA Woes Linger

Fourth-quarter 2019 revenue at Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. rose 2.6% over the prior year period (3.2% in constant currency) to $2.13bn, fueled by a strengthening knee business, which accounted for around 35% of the $761m total knee revenue. Growth in full-year sales was 0.6% (2.2% in constant currency), to $7.98bn and was higher than the company's expectations at the beginning of 2019, where it predicted growth between -0.5% and 0.5%. But it was still below a relatively weak 1.7% reported growth in 2018.

The company saw its knee volumes grow 7.8% in the fourth quarter, which beat Johnson & Johnson’s 1.4% quarterly knee volume growth (Also see "J&J Has Big Plans For Robotic Surgery In 2020" - Medtech Insight, 24 January, 2020.), but which fell short of Stryker Corp.’s double-digit growth. Growth in the knee business was driven by ROSA Knee robotic surgery system, which accounted for around 50% of the total, and by the Persona “personalized” knee replacement system, including the recently launched revision system. ROSA placements were strong, accelerating from Q3