Healthcare Industry News: Total Hip
News Release - March 3, 2008
Smith & Nephew Wins OXINIUM(TM) Approval in Japan
MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 3 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Smith & Nephew, Inc.'s (NYSE: SNN ; LSE: SN ) Orthopaedic Reconstruction business today announced Japanese regulatory approval of its award winning OXINIUM(TM) oxidized zirconium technology.Smith & Nephew is the only orthopaedic company to offer such a revolutionary and award winning joint replacement material. OXINIUM is a proprietary transformed metal alloy with a ceramic bearing surface. OXINIUM provides low friction and wear resistance combined with the strength of a metal implant. This material is the only orthopaedic implant material to receive the ASM International Engineering Materials Award for outstanding achievement of a material used in the design and manufacture of products.
This approval marks the first time Smith& Nephew's revolutionary technology will be available in the world's second largest Orthopaedic market. The highly successful GENESIS II(TM) knee system, which has been used in excess of 500,000 surgeries worldwide and has 10 year published clinical data showing 98% survivorship, will be the first implant system available in Japan with OXINIUM.
"This is an important milestone for Smith & Nephew and our OXINIUM platform. Our premier technology is revolutionizing joint replacement around the world by providing and maintaining unparalleled wear resistance," said Joseph DeVivo, president of Smith & Nephew Orthopaedic Reconstruction. "OXINIUM material has proven to be a superior metal in implants, and our trail blazing technology has given patients the significant benefit of greater durability from their implants. We are pleased with the hard work our regulatory teams performed to make this innovative implant material available for the numerous Japanese physicians and patients that have been anxiously awaiting this approval."
OXINIUM was developed and patented by individuals within Smith & Nephew Orthopaedic's Research, Development, and Manufacturing groups. All of Smith & Nephew's major knee and hip implant systems, including the GENESIS(TM) II Total Knee System, the LEGION(TM) Total Knee System, the JOURNEY(TM) BCS Knee system, the JOURNEY(TM) DEUCE(TM) Knee System, the SYNERGY(TM) Total Hip System and the ANTHOLOGY(TM) Total Hip System, are available with OXINIUM(TM) oxidized zirconium technology. The first OXINIUM oxidized zirconium component was implanted in 1995 and now more than 230,000 hip and knee components have been implanted with remarkable clinical success.
(TM) Trademark of Smith & Nephew. Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.
About us
Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specializing in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Orthopaedic Trauma & Clinical Therapies, Endoscopy and Advanced Wound Management products. Smith & Nephew is a global leader in arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global orthopaedics companies.
Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The Company prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with high standards of performance, innovation and trust. The company has 8,800 employees and operates in 32 countries around the world. Annual Sales in 2007 were nearly $3.4 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, statements regarding planned growth in our business and in our trading margins discussed under "Outlook" are forward-looking statements as are discussions of our product pipeline. These statements, as well as the phrases "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward- looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome of litigation and regulatory approvals) that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of these factors.
All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person acting on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Smith & Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Source: Smith & Nephew
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