Recently, global orthopedic giant Stryker announced the completion of its acquisition of neurological technology company Nico Corporation. It is reported that Nico is a private company that provides a systematic minimally invasive surgical method for tumor and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) surgery. This acquisition is expected to strengthen Stryker's neural technology in the fields of oncology and stroke care.
This acquisition of Nico is already Stryker's seventh acquisition transaction this year. Previously, in March April and July August, Stryker acquired six companies in the fields of chronic low back pain, artificial intelligence assistance, soft tissue fixation, joint consumables, etc., enhancing its layout in these areas.
Regarding the reasons for frequent mergers and acquisitions by foreign medical device companies, a senior industry insider once pointed out to 21st Century Business Herald reporters that firstly, in terms of technology, the update and iteration speed of medical device products is fast, and capital needs to acquire new technologies and patents to optimize its own technological layout; Secondly, in the global layout, enterprises largely rely on acquisitions to achieve overseas expansion; In addition, in terms of supply chain, mergers and acquisitions can help enrich the richness of a company's own system.
Intensify innovation layout in the field of neural intervention
For the purpose of this acquisition, Andy Pierce, President of Stryker Medical and Neurotechnology Group, said, "The acquisition of Nico Corporation expands Stryker's solution portfolio in tumor resection and intracerebral hemorrhage treatment, the latter being the deadliest form of stroke. This strategic acquisition enables us to provide differentiated minimally invasive treatment options
It is reported that Nico is a medical equipment company that develops and manufactures equipment and tools for neurosurgery, focusing on the treatment of tumors and cerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Nico's main technique is minimally invasive transcranial paravertebral approach surgery (MIPS), which allows surgeons to perform surgeries through natural channels in the brain, thereby reducing damage to surrounding healthy brain tissue. MIPS technology can not only be used to treat cerebral hemorrhage, but also to treat brain tumors and other neurological diseases.
Nico's main products are BrainPath and Myriad systems. Among them, the Myriad SPECTRA system is the third generation Myriad system developed by Nico. The system combines handheld directional light technology with non ablative and non thermal resection technology to provide surgeons with a new surgical tool to improve the safety and efficiency of surgery.
The BrainPath system is an innovative device launched by Nico, specifically designed for minimally invasive para beam surgery MIPS. This surgical method utilizes the natural channels of the brain to reach the surgical target area, thereby reducing damage to brain tissue.
According to a research report by Ping An Securities, nerve intervention devices for bleeding are mainly used to treat intracranial aneurysms, occluded abnormal blood vessels, and occluded ruptured intracranial blood vessels. They mainly include spring coils, auxiliary stents, blood flow guided dense mesh stents, etc. Nico's MIPS technology is an innovative treatment technology in this field.
This acquisition is an important layout of Stryker in the field of neural intervention, promoting the update of surgical technology. According to data from Bezos Consulting, the global market size for neural intervention devices is expected to reach $2.55 billion in 2024, with a projected CAGR of 4.7% between 2024 and 2029. In China, the number of nerve intervention surgeries is also showing a rapid development trend. According to the prediction of Zhuoshi Consulting, the number of surgeries in China is expected to increase from 161000 in 2020 to 741000 in 2026, with a GAGR of 28.9%.
According to a research report by Ping An Securities, the field of neural intervention in China is still in its early stages of development, and the application of neural intervention therapy technology is not yet mature. With the increasing popularity of related devices, the continuous growth of clinical demand, and the strong promotion of national policies, the market size and penetration rate of Chinese neurointerventional devices are expected to continue to grow rapidly.
According to Frost&Sullivan data, from 2017 to 2021, the market size of Chinese neurointerventional devices increased from 3.7 billion yuan to 6.892 billion yuan, with a CAGR of 16.82% from 2017 to 2021. It is expected that the market size will reach 15.842 billion yuan by 2025, 23.13% by 2021 to 2025, and approximately 44.226 billion yuan by 2030.
At present, the penetration rate of interventional neurosurgery in China is still low. According to the data of cautery consultation, the penetration rate of operations for hemorrhagic stroke, cerebral atherosclerotic stenosis and acute ischemic stroke will be 9.1%, 1.0% and 2.7% respectively in 2020, and is expected to rise to 31.7%, 3.5% and 19.5% respectively in 2026.
From the overall competitive landscape of the Chinese market, according to a research report by Ping An Securities, due to the complex structure and difficulty of neural intervention in cerebral blood vessels, as well as high requirements for device technology barriers, overseas medical device giants such as Medtronic, Stryker, Microvention, and Johnson&Johnson have laid out early and occupied the vast majority of the market share. According to data from Zhaoshi Consulting, foreign-funded enterprises will occupy 79% of the market share in 2022.
However, domestic enterprises have relatively late layouts, and in recent years, capital attention has only increased, with more companies entering the market. The main domestic enterprises in the field of neural intervention include Guichuangtongqiao, Minimally Invasive Neuroscience, Peijia Medical, Xinwei Medical, etc. Domestic leading enterprises are gradually improving their layout, gradually entering core treatment products from pathway products, and their product strength is constantly gaining clinical recognition, which is expected to lead the trend of domestic substitution.
Neural intervention is a rapidly developing field in recent years, and with the drive of capital, many companies are entering this field. For example, in recent years, some domestic companies have also started to go public, and a similar competitive pattern can be seen in 2-3 years. Now, the number of product approvals is increasing, and centralized procurement may also come. However, even if neural intervention products are centralized procurement, the price reduction may not be too high because the clinical usage cannot match that of stents. Without such a large quantity, there will not be a significant decline. "Regarding the development of the neural intervention industry, an industry insider introduced it to 21st Century Business Herald reporters.
Frequent mergers and acquisitions
According to statistics, this acquisition of Nico is Stryker's seventh acquisition transaction this year.
Previously, in August, Stryker announced the final agreement to acquire Vertos Medical, a developer of chronic back pain treatment, on August 22nd. On August 12th, Stryker announced the final agreement to acquire Care.ai, an AI assisted virtual care company. This acquisition will enhance Stryker's portfolio of healthcare IT products and wirelessly connected medical devices.
In July, Stryker announced on July 31 that it had completed the acquisition of Molli Surgical, a company developing wireless soft tissue positioning technology for breast conserving surgery. This acquisition will further strengthen Stryker's layout of breast cancer nursing surgery solutions. On July 15th, Stryker announced the completion of its acquisition of Artelon, a soft tissue fixation developer. This acquisition will strengthen Stryker's products in the field of ligament and tendon reconstruction soft tissue fixation.
In the previous months of March and April, Stryker announced on April 30th the completion of the acquisition of mfPHD, a major enterprise in modular stainless steel wall systems for hospitals and outpatient surgical centers. On March 21st, Stryker announced the completion of its acquisition of French joint consumables manufacturer SERF SAS. SERF SAS mainly develops, manufactures, and sells joint replacement products.
Regarding this series of acquisition strategies, during the earnings conference on July 30th, Kevin Lobo, CEO of Stryker, revealed that the company plans to conduct multiple mergers and acquisitions in the second half of this year. Most of the acquisitions will be small-scale, but they will play an important complementary role in the company's business. Kevin Lobo also stated that Stryker plans to use the backlog of orders to support its merger and acquisition strategy, especially with strong demand for endoscopes and medical products, and the company has the ability to continue advancing this strategy.
Currently, Stryker, which continues to promote the "buy buy buy" plan, is also maintaining a relatively stable performance growth. According to Stryker's Q2 2024 financial report, its consolidated net sales for the quarter were $5.4 billion, an increase of 8.5%; This quarter's organic net sales increased by 9.0%, with 7.9% due to increased sales and 1.1% due to price increases. Among them, the net sales of the medical surgery and neurotechnology departments were $3.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.0%; The net sales of orthopedics and spine business were 2.3 billion US dollars, an increase of 7.9%.
Stryker reported a net income of $825 million for the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 11.8%; The diluted net income per share for this quarter's report was $2.14, an increase of 10.9%; The reported interest rate and operating profit margin for this quarter are 63.0% and 19.4%, respectively.
In the fiscal year 2023, Stryker achieved a revenue of $20.498 billion, an increase of 11.11% year-on-year; Net profit of 3.165 billion US dollars, an increase of 34.22% year-on-year; The annual gross profit margin and operating profit margin were 63.7% and 19.0%, respectively.