Zimmer Biomet licenses knee patents from Bonutti

Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) said today it inked a deal with device incubator Bonutti Research for 2 families of patents related to knee technologies.

The Warsaw, Ind.-based company licensed a patent which Bonutti says “adds to the strength” of the Persona personalized knee system and its NexGen Complete knee solution.

Zimmer-Biomet also licensed 2 other patents from Bonutti which it said will support the development of the Rosa robotic total knee appliction that is currently underway, according to a press release.

Last month, Zimmer Biomet saw shares drop after the orthopedics giant beat Wall Street’s 1st-quarter forecast but lowered its outlook for the rest of the year.

The company posted profits of $299.4 million, or $1.47 per share, on sales of $1.98 billion for the 3 months ended March 31, for bottom-line growth of 175.2% on sales growth of 3.8% compared with Q1 2016. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $2.13, 2¢ ahead of The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $1.96 billion.

But the company also lowered its guidance for the rest of the year, saying it now expects adjusted EPS of $8.50 to $8.60, compared with its prior outlook of $8.50 to $8.68. Sales are now pegged at $7.84 billion to $7.92 billion, compared with $7.86 billion to $7.93 billion previously.