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Synthes Buttress Plate with Locking Screws - Tibia, Proximal - Submitted... orthopaediclist.com |
Synthes Holding AG (formerly Synthes-Stratec, SIX: SYST) is a multinational medical device manufacturer based in Solothurn, Switzerland and West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the world's largest maker of implants to mend bone fractures,[2] and also produces surgical power tools and advanced biomaterials. Synthes is controlled by chairman, former CEO and largest shareholder Hansjörg Wyss, who is ranked 164th on the 2008 Forbes list of richest people in the world.[3] The company's shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the firm is a constituent of the SMI index.
[edit] HistorySynthes was originally established in 1960 as a trademark of the non-profit institute Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (English: Association for the Study of Internal Fixation, AO/ASIF), which was applied to internal fixation implants produced under licence by its industrial partners, Straumann Group and Mathys Medizinaltechnik.[4] In 1975 Synthes USA, a firm founded by Harvard graduate Hansjörg Wyss, became the third company to form an alliance with AO/ASIF, while Straumann and Mathys expanded their coverage around the rest of the world throughout the decade.[5] In 1990 Straumann spun off its implant business into a separate privately owned company, Stratec Medical.[6] Stratec partially listed its shares on the SWX Swiss Exchange through an initial public offering six years later, while Synthes USA and Mathys remained in private hands.[7] Three years later, however, Stratec and Synthes USA merged to form a new publicly-traded company named Synthes-Stratec. After the merger Hansjörg Wyss became, and remains today, the majority shareholder of the enlarged company.[8] The third of the original AO/ASIF partner companies, Mathys, sold its osteosynthesis department in 2004,[9] although the company's German division was divested to satisfy competition authorities.[10] The company subsequently dropped the "-Stratec" suffix to become simply Synthes. The company's shares were added to the benchmark Swiss Market Index for the first time in September 2004.[11] In 2006 the company acquired the rights to the Synthes brand name and most of the related intellectual property, including patents, from the AO/ASIF foundation for around CHF1 billion.[12] AO also acquired a stake in Synthes. The two organisations continue to collaborate on relevant issues. [edit] ProductsThe company's product offering spans six divisions, of which four produce implants and related instruments for the treatment of physical trauma, spinal injuries and CMF (craniomaxillofacial) trauma, as well as for osteotomy in animals such as horses and dogs. Synthes' other business segments are the production of surgical power tools and biomaterials used to fill bone defects. [edit] References
[edit] External links
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