Stryker Corporation

History

In 1941, The Orthopedic Frame Company was founded by Homer Stryker, an orthopedist from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

In 1977, John W. Brown joined as president and CEO and became chairman in 1981. He transitioned to chairman in 2003. In 2009, Brown retired as chairman after 32 years with the company. Under his leadership, revenues rose from $17 million to $6.7 billion.

In 1979, Stryker became a public company via an initial public offering.

In 2003, Stephen P. MacMillan joined Stryker as president and CEO.

In 2007, Stryker sold its Physiotherapy Associates division to private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners for $150 million.

In February 2012, MacMillan resigned and Curt R. Hartman was named Interim Chief Executive Officer and vice president and chief financial officer. William U. Parfet was named non-executive chairman of the board. In October 2012, Kevin A. Lobo was appointed as president and chief executive officer.

In 2023, Stryker introduced a minimally invasive bunion treatment system, Prostep MIS Lapidus, which aims to reduce bunion recurrence, minimize scarring, and lower opioid use.

Acquisitions history

Acquisitions history

• Stryker Corporation (Est. 1941 as The Orthopedic Frame Company)
  • Osteonics Corporation
  • Howmedica (Acq 1998)
  • Leibinger GmbH(Acq 1996)
  • Guided Technologies, Inc. (Sold 2007, SpineCore Inc.)
  • Water Street Healthcare Partners (Sold 2007)
  • Surgical Dynamics Inc. (Acq 2002)
  • SpineCore Inc. (Acq 2004)
  • PlasmaSol Corporation (Acq 2005)
  • Sightline Technologies Ltd (Acq 2006)
  • eTrauma.com Corporation (Acq 2006)
  • Ascent Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (Acq 2009)
  • Boston Scientific (Neurovascular div) (Acq 2011)
  • Orthovita (Acq 2011)
  • Memometal Technologies S.A. (Acq 2011)
  • Concentric Medical, Inc. (Acq 2011)
  • Trauson Holdings Company Limited (Acq 2012)
  • MAKO Surgical Corporation (Acq 2012)
  • Patient Safety Technologies (Acq 2012)
  • Surpass Medical Ltd (Acq 2012)
  • Pivot Medical, Inc. (Acq 2014)
  • Berchtold Holding AG (Acq 2014)
  • Small Bone Innovations Inc. (Acq 2014)
  • Sage Products (Acq 2016)
  • Physio-Control (Acq 2016)
  • Stanmore Implants Worldwide Ltd (Acq 2016)
  • Entellus Medical Inc (Acq 2017)
  • Arthrogenx, LLC (Acq 2017)
  • Novadaq (Acq 2017)
  • Vexim (Acq 2017)
  • Scopis GmbH (Acq 2017)
  • K2M Group Holdings, Inc. (Acq 2018)
  • Hygia Health Services (Acq 2018)
  • SafeAir AG (Acq 2018)
  • HyperBranch Medical Technology, Inc. (Acq 2018)
  • Invuity, Inc (Acq 2018)
  • Arrinex, Inc. (Acq 2019)
  • OrthoSpace, Ltd (Acq 2019)
  • GYS Tech, LLC (Acq 2019)
  • Mobius Imaging, LLC (Acq 2019)
  • Stryker B.V.
    • Stryker Unite, (Bermuda) Ltd
      • Wright Medical Group N.V. (Acq 2019)
        • Wright Luxembourg S.A.
        • Wright Medical (Bermuda) Ltd
        • IMASCAP SAS (Acq 2017)
        • Cartiva, Inc. (Acq 2018)
  • OrthoSensor, Inc. (Acq 2020)
  • TMJ Concepts (Acq 2020)
  • Vocera Communications (Acq 2021)
  • SERF SAS (Acq 2024)
  • Care.ai (Acq 2024)

Controversies and lawsuits

In 2007 and 2008, the company received three FDA warning letters citing issues in compliance.

The first of these, a seven-page correspondence, named various issues at an Irish manufacturing facility, such as untimely fix of failures and procedural noncompliance in the testing of failed or otherwise problem-prone devices. The second, sent November 2007, cited issues at the firm's Mahwah, New Jersey, facility, including poor fixation of hip implant components, in some instances requiring mitigation by revision surgeries; exceeded microbial level violations in the cleaning and final packaging areas of the sterile implants; and failure to institute measures in prevention of recurrence of these and other problems. The third warning letter, sent April 2008, cited issues at the firm's biotechnology facility in Hopkinton, Massachusetts related to quality and noncompliance including falsification of documents relevant to the selling of products to hospitals which are to be sold under a limited, government-mandated basis. Stryker maintains that employees involved in the falsification of documents have since been terminated.

In August 2010, the company paid $1.35 million to settle claims that it marketed items without regulatory approval and misled health care providers about the use of its products.

Stryker initiated a product recall on several models of medical vacuums sold under the Neptune Waste Management System brand in June and September 2012. The devices, some of which had not been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, caused a fatal accident when the vacuum was mistakenly used to suction a passive drainage tube.

In 2013, the company agreed to pay $13.2 million to settle charges that it made illicit payments totaling approximately $2.2 million in Argentina, Greece, Mexico, Poland, and Romania. In 2018, the company was fined $7.8 million under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for failing to detect the risk of improper payments in sales of products in India, China, and Kuwait.

Lawsuits

On 2012, FDA has issued a warning for the Stryker Rejuvenate hip replacement after it was discovered that the hip replacement was considered defective and can cause similar side effects to DePuy Synthes hip implants. As a result, in 2014, Stryker was fined $1 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively, for its defective Rejuvenate and ABG II hip replacements that can cause excruciating pain.

In 2016, subsidiary company Stryker EMEA Supply Chain Services BV challenged the Dutch authorities' interpretation of procurement nomenclature regarding implant screws intended to be inserted in the human body. The matter was referred to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling on the legal position and on the validity of the relevant EU implementing regulation.

Continuation of business in Russia after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Stryker is among companies that continue business-as-usual in Russia during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine despite international sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Research from Yale School of Management evaluating companies' reaction to the Russian invasion put Stryker in the "Grade F" category of "Digging In", meaning "Defying Demands for Exit or Reduction of Activities."

Awards and recognition

Stryker was recognized by Hermann Simon as a role model for other small to medium-sized business in his book Hidden Champions.

References

References

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