The global orthopaedics market is gradually recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic

The orthopaedics devices market has been highly affected because of elective surgeries being deferred or cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to GlobalData’s monthly SKU data analysis, the hip and knee market dropped by approximately 70% in Q2 in the US compared to last year. GlobalData expects that orthopaedic procedures will decrease by over 20% over the course of this whole year. However, as elective surgeries have resumed, the market is recovering.

The orthopaedic revenues from major orthopaedic players were down around 30% in Q2 compared to Q2 2019, with improved performance across Q2 as elective surgeries restarted. Johnson & Johnson’s orthopaedics had a drop of 33.9% while Smith & Nephew saw a revenue decrease of 34.1%. Stryker’s orthopaedic business decreased by 29.9%, with month-to-month improvement especially in the US, China, Australia, and Germany, returning to approximately 85% to 90% of pre-Covid levels.

Zimmer Biomet reported a 38% decline in revenues, but with a particularly large decline of 50.1% in Europe. Public healthcare systems would be expected to recover more slowly than private healthcare systems, due to private systems including specialist hospitals that do not treat Covid-19 patients. Europe is dominated by public healthcare systems, and so Zimmer’s particular exposure to Europe may mean its revenue will be slower to recover compared to competitors.

Within the orthopaedic space, the knee market has been severely hit by Covid-19, followed by the hip market. The hip market is also recovering faster than the knee business, because of the less-elective nature of hip procedures. The top non-elective procedures include traumas, amputations, and oncological procedures.

Dislocations and fractures, including hip, pelvis, and forearms, should only be considered for treatment in urgent cases. As a result, most companies reported mild revenue declines in their trauma business. However, the trauma market continued to be under pressure due to fewer road accidents and reduced physical activities related to widespread quarantines. As more countries started loosening the restriction policies, many important elective surgeries have resumed, which gives hope to the market in the upcoming quarters.

The pandemic will have a lasting impact on the orthopaedics market. GlobalData expects it may take over six months to return to 90% of the pre-Covid level of elective orthopaedic surgeries globally. Every country has a unique situation in terms of Covid-19 prevalence, healthcare infrastructure, staffing capabilities, and personal protection equipment supply; therefore, the recovery rates vary widely.

While countries like Germany and China demonstrated sharp V-shaped quick recoveries, most countries made progress back to normalisation. The UK, India, and Latin America lagged in terms of recovery, creating a drag on overall global performance. Most healthcare facilities have adequate stockpiles of the necessary equipment for a potential second wave; as a result, healthcare systems, in general, are better equipped to address the pandemic in the coming months than they were early this year.

For more insight and data, visit GlobalData's Medical Intelligence Centre