Looking to put past controversy in the rear-view, Johnson & Johnson's ($JNJ) DePuy Mitek is launching its Endurance Hip Solutions, a suite of devices and instruments designed for hip arthroscopy.
The system includes the needles, guidewires and suture anchors for arthroscopic procedures, plus devices for tissue ablation and fluid management, creating what DePuy says is an all-in-one solution for surgeons.
Endurance positions DePuy to cash in on the growing popularity of hip arthroscopy, a market the company estimates will grow 15% per year. "With Endurance Hip Solutions, we've leveraged our clinical expertise and track record in soft tissue repair of the shoulder and knee to create a procedural hip arthroscopy solution from joint access to tissue and suture management," DePuy President Ian Lawson said in a statement.
Of course, any sentence containing "DePuy" and "hip" calls to mind 2010's global recall of the company's ASR hip implant over serious risks. The all-metal implant failed for about one in 8 patients, resulting in more than 3,000 lawsuits with which J&J is still grappling. The drug and device giant set aside $3 billion for settlements.
But that's the past. Now, DePuy is banking on a continued surge of arthroscopic surgeries on hips as surgeons the world over are won over by the procedure's ability to get a look at joints without the need for large incisions and major disruption to surrounding tissue and muscle. And, according to DePuy, Endurance is just the technology to facilitate efficient, safe hip arthroscopies.
- read DePuy's statement