Smith & Nephew (FTSE:SN, NYSE:SNN) plans to expand its Syncera pilot program, which replaces OR sales reps with an automated system, into 3 more markets, CEO Olivier Bohoun told investors yesterday.
Syncera, a "no frills" program for the British medical device company’s orthopedics business, aims to cut implant prices in half by removing sales representatives from the operating room and replacing them with an automated technology solution.
Smith & Nephew launched Syncera last summer in the U.S. as part of a pilot program aimed at cutting hip and knee replacement device prices by 40% to 50%. At the time, company officials estimated the target market for Syncera at 5% to 10% of U.S. hospitals.
Bohuon told investors at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco yesterday that the company is very satisfied with the results from the pilot and plans to expand the system in Australia, New Zealand and parts of the European Union.
Bohuon called the program "disruptive of the commercial model," noting that Smith & Nephew is seeing profit margins "equivalent with the classic old-style business."
Hospitals performing 700 procedures a year with the Syncera system will save an average of about $4 million in cash over 3 years, he said.
