On September 25, 2023, Enovis Corporation, a large orthopedic device company in the United States, announced its agreement to acquire LimaCorporate for 800 million euros (approximately 850 million US dollars, 6.2 billion RMB). The latter is one of the top ten global bone and joint equipment companies, focusing on digital innovation and research and development customization of orthopedic implants. It has acquired some regional businesses of knee and elbow systems from Zimmer Biomet.
Enovis, formerly known as Colfax, acquired orthopedic giant DJO for $3.15 billion, becoming the fifth largest acquisition in the medical technology industry that year. In 2022, the company spun off its chemical business and renamed itself Enovis Corporation, ranking 56th on the 2022 Top 100 Medical Device Companies.
This acquisition will supplement Enovis' orthopedic product portfolio, expand its international business landscape, and generate approximately $1 billion in implant performance, with approximately 50% of its revenue coming from the rapidly growing limb trauma market.
Global bone and joint giants
Previously acquired the Zimmer Biomet division business
As one of the top ten bone and joint equipment companies, LimaCorporate has a significant market position in the global bone and joint market. The company is committed to artificial joint reconstruction, focusing on initial replacement and revision of hip, knee joint, and shoulder elbow joint, as well as comprehensive customized solutions for customers. The product range covers from large-scale joint replacements, initial implants, to complete limb solutions including fixation. In 2022, the company achieved a revenue of 249 million euros (approximately 1.921 billion yuan).
Lima's history began in the small town of Anduins, Italy in 1945. In response to the shortage of surgical instruments after World War II, entrepreneur Carlo Leopoldo Lualdi began producing surgical instruments, known as "LIMA" for Lualdi Industry Meccaniche Anduins.
With innovative enthusiasm and precision technology, the company has achieved significant development in the field of orthopedics, aerospace, and automotive technology since its establishment. In 2000, Lima began to focus on the orthopedic business and has since become a professional orthopedic equipment company. In 2002, the company launched the world's first platform based artificial shoulder joint system, SMR, which is a representative product in the field of artificial shoulder joints.
SMR artificial shoulder joint system
The SMR artificial shoulder joint system has obvious technological advantages, and its modular design provides doctors with the possibility of selecting the best surgical plan based on the patient's clinical symptoms, thereby achieving better stability and restoring the range of motion of the shoulder joint.
The SMR shoulder replacement system is the world's first shoulder replacement system rated as ODEP 10A. Based on the rigorous data quality evaluation standards of ODEP, the 10A rating is awarded to implants with a 10-year implantation survival rate of no less than 90%.
3D printing implant Trabecular Titanium
Acetabular cup implants manufactured using Trabecular Titanium technology
Subsequently, Lima introduced 3D printing technology in the production process of joint prosthesis implants, becoming one of the pioneers in additive manufacturing. And in a unique way, Trabecular Titanium (TT titanium bone trabecula) was created, which has a porous structure on the surface and differs from surface coatings manufactured by plasma spraying and other processes,This structure is a biomimetic structure directly manufactured by 3D printing equipment, and the geometric structure of the holes can be precisely controlled. For example, the porosity of the acetabular cup implant manufactured through Trabecular Titanium technology is 65%, with an average pore size of 640 μ M. The porous implant structure created by metal 3D printing technology can promote bone growth, resulting in better rehabilitation effects.