| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: SYK S&P 500 Component |
| Industry | Medical devices |
| Founded | 1941 |
| Founder(s) | Homer Stryker |
| Headquarters | Kalamazoo, MI |
| Key people | John W. Brown - Chairman emeritus Stephen P. MacMillan - Chairman, President, & CEO |
| Products | Medical devices orthopaedic implants surgical equipment |
| Revenue | $7.32 billion USD (2010) |
| Operating income | $1.75 billion USD (2010) |
| Net income | $1.27 billion USD (2010) |
| Employees | approx. 20,232 |
| Website | www.stryker.com |
Stryker Corporation NYSE: SYK, is a Kalamazoo, Michigan based medical technology firm which develops and produces medical implants, surgical and imaging technologies, as well as patient handling and emergency medical equipment. Presently, the company is divided into several discrete operational units, each functioning as a separate entity: Stryker Biotech; Stryker Canada; Stryker Communications; Stryker Craniomaxillofacial; Stryker Development; Stryker Endoscopy; Stryker Imaging; Stryker Japan; Stryker Latin America; Stryker MedSurg; Stryker Orthopaedics; and Stryker Spine.[1]
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The Orthopedic Frame Company, precursor of Stryker Corporation, was formed on February 20, 1941 by Dr. Homer Stryker, a Kalamazoo, Michigan based orthopedist. Stryker developed the Turning Frame—a mobile hospital bed that allowed for repositioning of injured patients while providing necessary body immobility, the cast cutter—a cast cutting apparatus that removed cast material without damaging underlying tissues, and the walking heel, among others. In 1964, the company name underwent revision and was officially changed to Stryker Corporation.[2]
In 1979 Stryker made an initial public offering of stock and later acquired Osteonics Corporation, entering the replacement hip, knee, and other orthopaedic implants market (Stryker). In 1999 annual sales reached $2.1 billion and in 2000 Stryker was included in the S&P 500 and the Forbes Platinum 400 for the first time. In 2002 sales reached $3.0 billion and Stryker was listed in the Fortune 500 for the first time.
In 2003 Stephen P. MacMillan joined Stryker as President and COO. In 2005, annual sales reached $4.9 billion and John W. Brown transitioned to the single role of Chairman of the Board while Steve MacMillan became President & CEO. By 2007, Stryker sold its Physiotherapy Associates division to private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners for $150 million.
As of a 2007-2008 global market overview of top medical technology firms, Stryker maintains a number 10 locus with total portfolio sales in excess of $6 billion; this figure marks an increase of approximately 20% over the previous period. Since 1999 the company has sustained comparable rates of growth. Moreover, the firm maintains 16% worldwide orthopaedic market share; Stryker retains more of the orthopaedic market than any other of the nation’s foremost producers in the segment: DePuy Orthopaedics, Zimmer Holdings, Medtronic, Synthes, Smith & Nephew, and Biomet, among others.[3]
The company was recognized in by Hermann Simon as a role model for other small to medium sized business in his book Hidden Champions.[4]
As of 2008, members of the board of directors of Stryker Corporation are:[5]
In 1998, Stryker purchased Howmedica, the orthopaedic division of Pfizer, for $1.65 billion. In August 2000, Stryker acquired, with stock, Guided Technologies, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of optical localizers purposed for use in healthcare and industrial.[6] In August 2004, Stryker acquired, for $120 million, SpineCore Inc., a company involved in the development of artificial spinal disks. About two years preceding this date, in June 2002, the firm acquired the Spinal Implant Business of Surgical Dynamics Inc. for $135 million. In March 2006 Stryker absorbed the Haifa, Israel based Sightline Technologies Ltd. into its operations. Sightline, a manufacturer of gastrointestinal endoscopy apparatuses, propelled Stryker into the flexible endoscopy market. In February of the same year, the firm acquired eTrauma.com Corp., a privately held entity involved in the development of software for Picture archiving and communication system (PACS); the company was incorporated into Stryker Endoscopy Business. December 2005, marked the company’s acquisition of PlasmaSol Corp. for $17.5 million. PlasmaSol produces technologies allowing sterilization of various MedSurg equipments. In May 2011, Stryker announced an intent to purchase Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Orthovita, a biomaterials company specializing in bone augmentation and substitution technologies.[7]
Stryker maintains relationships with, but not limited to, the following professional and trade organizations:[8]
Additionally, the following athletes publicly endorse Stryker Orthopaedics products:
Since early 2007 the company has received three Warning Letters from the Federal Drug Administration citing issues in compliancy.[11] The first of these, a seven-page correspondence, named various issues at an Ireland-based manufacturing facility such as untimely fix of failures and procedural noncompliance in the testing of failed or otherwise problem-prone devices.[12] The second, sent November 2007, cites issues at the firm’s Mahwah, N.J. 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.[13] The final warning letter, sent April 2008, cites issues at the firm’s Hopkinton, MA biotechnology facility. Again, issues relate 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.[14]
In the Fall of 2007, Stryker, along with the related companies: Biomet, Zimmer Holdings, DePuy Orthopaedics and Smith & Nephew, were involved in civil ligation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. This litigation called for a net payout of $311 million as the governmental department maintains the aforementioned companies engaged in unlawful kickbacks to physicians who urged hospitals to purchase their respective products. Stryker, however, having cooperated early in the investigation, was not fined.[15]
As of February 2008, a dispute exists between Stryker Corp. and the U.S. Department of Justice concerning a subpoena linking the company to aforementioned misconduct in sale of products. Since governmental filing of the injunction, Stryker notes that it has produced in excess of 300,000 pages of documentation in compliance with the mandate. U.S. Government counters, however, that the documentation was not proper in scope and format. Law officials expect the investigation to continue for several months.[16]