Medtech in a Minute: A Phoenix Rises, and More

A Phoenix Rises

Intuitive Surgical's stock rose more than 10% last week following news of its earnings beat. The company rebounded in earnings after facing macroeconomic and competitive headwinds earlier in the year. CEO Gary Guthart said procedure volumes were up 20%. He specifically highlighted general surgery, Intuitive's largest procedure category, which is growing at the fastest rate of any category. That growth is fueled by bariatric surgery, cholecystectomy, hernia repair, and other foregut procedures in the United States, he said.

Abbott Debunks COVID Testing Assumptions

Abbott raked in $1.7 billion in global COVID testing sales in the third quarter, and CEO Robert Ford told analysts that their earlier assumptions regarding COVID testing going away at some point were incorrect. The company now expects full year 2022 sales from COVID-19 tests to land at $7.8 billion. "Right now, it's looking like COVID testing sales are stickier than most have assumed," Ford said.

Medtronic's Mega News Week

Medtronic had a busy week, first revealing its plans to launch a collaborative innovation platform in the stroke space, then announcing three significant regulatory approvals for its Hugo robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system. The company has received CE mark clearance to market Hugo for general surgery in Europe; a Health Canada license for general laparoscopic surgery; and Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare approval for urologic surgical and gynecologic laparoscopic indications in Japan.

And in case you missed our last Medtech in a Minute report...

Philips Faces Fallout from Recall, Supply Issues

News of supply chain issues and depreciating value of Philips' troubled sleep apnea business sent the company's stock plunging to its lowest levels since June 2012. The Amsterdam, Netherlands-based company warned that supply chain issues are hurting sales, and that the company will have to write down $1.26 billion of the value of its troubled sleep apnea business.

Two Spine Companies Throw in Together

Orthofix and SeaSpine announced plans to combine in an all-stock merger of equals. The new company, which is expected to be named prior to the transaction closing, would have revenues of roughly $693 million. The company will be headquartered in Lewisville, TX and management expects it to achieve $1 billion in revenue by the end of 2025. While bigger isn't always better in spine, according to Ryan Zimmerman, a medtech analyst at BTIG, the Orthofix-SeaSpine merger does solve some immediate problems for both companies. The analyst noted that for Orthofix, the planned merger improves the caliber and quality of its spinal implant, biologics, and enabling tech portfolio with SeaSpine's products. Zimmerman also noted that the merger provides SeaSpine with access to cash witout the need to raise additional capital. Also, reduced cash burn for SeaSpine will allow further investment in its product portfolio to further enable product development, he wrote.