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Orthopedic companies in the joint replacement and spine markets reported robust technology sales in the first quarter. Executives from those companies often speak about how technology ecosystems are changing competitive dynamics in the market.
These ecosystems are burdensome to develop, commercialize and maintain. Few smaller companies have the resources to enter the technology arena. After it sold the REMI system to ATEC, Accelus highlighted some areas of organizational friction brought on by developing technology.
“As a spinal implant company, our need to bring on software engineers was quite an expense,” said Accelus CEO Kevin McGann. “The sales channel is completely different, so you must hire competent capital equipment sales folks. The supply component of it required additional vendors on the approved list, as well as additional quality and regulatory work. It was a major burden for us as an organization.”
Medtronic thinks this dynamic could seriously pare down the number of competitors in spine.
I turned to our Orthopedic Companies Sales Matrix to get a sense of the current competitive landscape in each segment. Our chart of the month shows the number of active orthopedic companies by market segment and the median sales for each segment in USD millions.
Spine is the most crowded segment in our dataset, with 31 active companies as of 2024. However, it ranks in the bottom half of the pack for median annual sales, at $86 million.
The four largest spine players account for 60% of worldwide annual sales. The remaining players in the top 10 all have low-single-digit share. More than a quarter of all spine sales in 2023 came from companies with less than $100 million in annual revenue.
This data implies a significant population of spine companies at risk as these competitive dynamics play out over the coming years. While a few of these companies may get a softer landing via acquisition, current M&A trends prioritize platform technologies with durable protection via IP or know-how over commoditized implants.
Orthopedic companies in the joint replacement and spine markets reported robust technology sales in the first quarter. Executives from those companies often speak about how technology ecosystems are changing competitive dynamics in the market.
These ecosystems are burdensome to...
Orthopedic companies in the joint replacement and spine markets reported robust technology sales in the first quarter. Executives from those companies often speak about how technology ecosystems are changing competitive dynamics in the market.
These ecosystems are burdensome to develop, commercialize and maintain. Few smaller companies have the resources to enter the technology arena. After it sold the REMI system to ATEC, Accelus highlighted some areas of organizational friction brought on by developing technology.
“As a spinal implant company, our need to bring on software engineers was quite an expense,” said Accelus CEO Kevin McGann. “The sales channel is completely different, so you must hire competent capital equipment sales folks. The supply component of it required additional vendors on the approved list, as well as additional quality and regulatory work. It was a major burden for us as an organization.”
Medtronic thinks this dynamic could seriously pare down the number of competitors in spine.
I turned to our Orthopedic Companies Sales Matrix to get a sense of the current competitive landscape in each segment. Our chart of the month shows the number of active orthopedic companies by market segment and the median sales for each segment in USD millions.
Spine is the most crowded segment in our dataset, with 31 active companies as of 2024. However, it ranks in the bottom half of the pack for median annual sales, at $86 million.
The four largest spine players account for 60% of worldwide annual sales. The remaining players in the top 10 all have low-single-digit share. More than a quarter of all spine sales in 2023 came from companies with less than $100 million in annual revenue.
This data implies a significant population of spine companies at risk as these competitive dynamics play out over the coming years. While a few of these companies may get a softer landing via acquisition, current M&A trends prioritize platform technologies with durable protection via IP or know-how over commoditized implants.
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ME
Mike Evers is a Senior Market Analyst and writer with over 15 years of experience in the medical industry, spanning cardiac rhythm management, ER coding and billing, and orthopedics. He joined ORTHOWORLD in 2018, where he provides market analysis and editorial coverage.
