Fred Funk is going to be taking a few swings for Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK), after the professional golfer inked an endorsement deal for its Triathalon knee replacement system.
Funk, a 20-year veteran of the PGA Tour, will “help to educate current and prospective knee replacement patients around the country, drawing upon his experiences with osteoarthritis, knee replacement, and the recovery process,” the company said in a prepared release.
Funk underwent a total knee replacement in November 2009 using Triathalon implant and returned to the tour shortly after. He’s the second high profile athlete to sign on as a spokesperson for a major orthopedics company in as many weeks. Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) tapped tennis legend Billie Jean King last week in an endorsement deal for its Legion knee implants.
Sales of knee implants were surprisingly robust for Stryker in 2010, despite a challenging orthopedics environment. In late January the company reported a 6 percent jump in top-line growth of knee implants from 2009 levels, which helped push the company to a15 percent overall jump in profits for the year.
Katherine Owen, vice president if strategy and investor relations, said during an earnings call that long-term prospects remained solid for knee replacements because the “ability to permanently defer a hip or knee replacement is not possible.”
