Orthopedic Implant Manufacturers

Zimmer Biomet

This company was founded in 1927 in Warsaw, Indiana, where its headquarters are still based. It has operations in more than 40 countries around the world. Zimmer Biomet manufactures replacement joints for the knee, hip, shoulder, foot, ankle, and elbow.

They also make disc replacements for the neck and back, hardware for correcting spinal deformities such as scoliosis, and a breastbone closure called the SternaLock Blu for use after open-heart surgery. Their pectus support bar is used in patients with pectus excavatum (sunken chest syndrome). They also offer dental implants and prosthetics.

DePuy Synthes

A division of Johnson & Johnson, DePuy Synthes, was founded in 1895 and according to the company website, was the “first orthopaedic manufacturing business in the world.” They offer products for hip, knee, and shoulder replacement, in addition to products for use in many other types of operations, including facial and cranial reconstruction.

In 1998, Johnson and Johnson acquired DePuy Synthes. Fun fact: DePuy Synthes also makes a metal plate and screw combination that’s used to fix dogs’ faulty knees.

Smith+Nephew

This Britain-based company has roots as a small pharmacy in the tiny town of Hull, England, first owned and operated by Thomas James Smith in the mid-1800s. When Smith died in 1896, his nephew Horatio Nelson Smith took over the company.

According to the Smith+Nephew website, in 1914, the younger Smith met with representatives of the president of France, resulting in a contract to supply surgical and field dressings to soldiers fighting in the war. From here, the company grew and restructured in 1998 to focus on wound management, endoscopy, and orthopedics.

In 2001, the company became a constituent member of the FTSE-100, meaning that they are in the top 100 companies traded on the London Stock Exchange. They create joint replacement systems for knees, hips, and shoulders, as well as instruments and technologies used in the repair of soft tissue injuries.

Stryker

According to the company’s website, when orthopaedic surgeon Homer Stryker “found that certain medical products were not meeting his patients’ needs, he invented new ones. As interest in these products grew, Dr. Stryker started a company in 1941 to produce them.”

The company provides implants for the hip, knee, foot, ankle, hand, wrist, and shoulder. They also offer maxillofacial surgical solutions, a line of products for foot and ankle surgeons, spinal solutions, instruments and technology for the OR, and more.

Wright Medical Group

The first orthopedic product offered by this Memphis, Tennessee-based company, was the “street heel”—a rubber heel designed by company founder Frank O. Wright to ease the discomfort and potential back problems associated with walking on the hard steel heel of a leg cast. Today, Wright Medical Group (now part of Stryker) provides solutions for the foot, ankle, hand, elbow, shoulder, and wrist (including tendons and ligaments).