
Things are looking up for the U.S. orthopedics market, as preliminary results for Biomet Inc.‘s 2nd quarter suggest strong growth in domestic knee and hip devices sales.
Privately held Biomet, considered something of a bellwether for the U.S. orthopedics market, touted 6% year-over-year growth in knees and 8% in hips.
If Biomet’s earnings are indicative of larger trends, the uptick in U.S. orthopedic sales may be accelerating, Leerink Swann analyst Richard Newitter wrote in a note to investors.
That’s good news for the slew of device makers, such as Stryker (NYSE:SYK) and Zimmer (NYSE:ZMH), which also saw strong growth in Q1, Newitter added.
Biomet’s U.S. spinal product sales also increased for the 4th straight quarter. The company’s extremities division grew at a double-digit clip, according to the note. European sales, however, declined by 2% compared with the same period last year.
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