Exactech Experience: Fine-Tuning Patient Outcomes and Redefining the Competitive Landscape 1 © GlobalData. This report is a licensed product and is not to be copied, reproduced, shared or resold in any form.

Exactech Experience: Fine-Tuning Patient Outcomes and Redefining the Competitive Landscape

Reference Code: GDHC0544EI Publication Date: September 2013

Exactech Experience: Fine-Tuning Patient Outcomes and Redefining the Competitive Landscape

In the past decade, a parade of orthopedic giants has led to a drumbeat of product development across the spectrum of joint diseases, accompanied by an expanding cohort of emerging players joining the stampede. In fact, the orthopedic arena has become so packed that the bar for effective competition has been raised again and again. While launching and marketing innovative technologies with a clear value proposition remains critical to the success of companies as they jockey for market position, closer attention to improving patient outcomes is becoming increasingly important in the current healthcare system, where clinical efficacy dictates everything. Recently, GlobalData had a conversation with Darin Johnson, VP of Marketing  of  Extremities  at  Exactech,   to  discuss  not  only  Exactech’s  success  with  orthopedic  

products that have shown improved clinical outcomes, but how Exactech continues to hone its competitive edges against the headwinds facing the industry.

Founded in 1985 by an orthopedic surgeon, his wife and a biomedical engineer, this Florida-based company designs, manufactures, and markets a range of joint reconstruction products including knee, hip, spine, and extremity implant systems, as well as other ancillary products, such as biologics, bone cement materials, and dental products. Currently, the Optetrak® knee platform accounts for the largest portion of Exactech, with the second biggest contributor being extremity implants. In 2012, Exactech posted $224m in total revenue, with continued growth in most of its segments. The most eye-catching segment of Exactech resides in the  company’s  

extremity division, which registered an impressive 30% increase in revenue, thanks to the company’s  outstanding  shoulder  portfolio.

Exactech’s Equinoxe® shoulder family includes primary and reverse total shoulder systems for degenerative diseases, as well as a platform fracture stem for trauma. Such a broad portfolio has helped the company establish a strong foothold in the global shoulder market; the key driver behind this success is the Equinoxe reverse shoulder system.

In fact, reverse shoulder replacement is receiving a great deal of attention because of its expanded indication, yet its widespread use is limited by a high reported rate of complications,

Exactech Experience: Fine-Tuning Patient Outcomes and Redefining the Competitive Landscape 2 © GlobalData. This report is a licensed product and is not to be copied, reproduced, shared or resold in any form.

such as scapular notching. How to improve clinical outcomes in patients implanted with reverse shoulder systems remains a challenge in the global orthopedic community, but the orthopedic companies have not stopped trying.

Johnson told GlobalData that, “Exactech’s  reverse  shoulder  incorporates a lateralized humerus that decreases scapular notching to 13% from an average of 68%.”  Johnson  went on to say, “One   more   specific   example   of   improving   clinical   outcomes   is   [with] external rotation. Most reverse shoulder patients get great elevation, but struggle to externally rotate their arm. Our multicenter study showed over 30 degrees of average external rotation, which is a marked improvement that directly helps patients maintain their active lifestyles.”    

While product innovation is necessary for acquiring a competitive edge in the crowded orthopedic space, in Exactech’s  experience, it is equally important to help address the needs of surgeons so that better patient care can ultimately be delivered.

“Exactech  exists   to   improve  patient  outcomes.” Johnson said. “One facet of that is designing great implants, but helping surgeons improve their skills and become excellent at implantation is  a  critical  facet  too.  We’ve  trained  nearly a thousand surgeons in the last several years in labs around the globe. We invest intensively in medical education. And this has been one of the key drivers in helping us achieve 12% market share after just eight years on the market.”

The orthopedic industry is getting intensely competitive, given the current exigent economic conditions and an uncertain healthcare environment. With the orthopedic giants dominating more than 70% of the market, combined with the recent saturation in the large joint reconstruction segment, an increasing number of players see the extremity market as an attractive avenue for growth and as such, invest heavily in physician training and consumer marketing. While an efficient sales force helps companies secure a footing, long-term market leadership hinges on how effective companies can leverage their platforms and portfolios to fulfill unmet needs in order to fine-tune the patient experience, and hence, outperform the counterparts in the field.

“The   extremity   space   is   so   exciting,”   Johnson   said, “because there are still remaining challenges and opportunities that can help solve those challenges. Our cage glenoid and augmented glenoid have gone into a more comprehensive launch mode this year. Our modular resurfacing head implant is also going to be launched next year. And we are going to introduce a total ankle replacement implant as well. I believe a robust pipeline helps Exactech differentiate  itself.”

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With a competitive pipeline serving as one bookend, and a customer-centric strategy serving as the other, it appears that Exactech is poised for the challenging journey ahead. It will be interesting to see how Exactech continues to navigate the competitive landscape in the reconstruction space.

Related Reports

GlobalData (2013). MediPoint: Trauma Fixation – Global Analysis and Market Forecasts, to be published October, 2013

GlobalData (2013). MediPoint: Knee Replacement – Global Analysis and Market Forecasts, to be published September, 2013

GlobalData (2013). MediPoint: Total Hip Replacement – Global Analysis and Market Forecasts GDME0174MAR / Published July 2013

GlobalData (2013). MediPoint: Total Shoulder Replacement – Global Analysis and Market Forecasts GDME0177MAR / Published June 2013

GlobalData (2013). MediPoint: Total Wrist Reconstruction – Global Analysis and Market Forecasts GDME0171MAR / Published March 2013

GlobalData (2013). MediPoint: Total Ankle Replacement – Global Analysis and Market Forecasts GDME0167MAR / Published February 2013

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