January 14, 2015 by Brian Johnson
Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo says he doesn’t view the so-called ‘repless’ generic sales models piloted by orthopedic rivals Smith & Nephew and Wright Medical as a serious threat.
Stryker (NYSE:SYK) CEO Kevin Lobo is skeptical of so-called “repless” generic sales models for orthopedic procedures, he said today, even as rival (and potential acquisition) Smith & Nephew(FTSE:SN, NYSE:SNN) looks to expand its no-frills Syncera program.
Lobo, speaking at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, said that he’s aware of programs like Syncera but doesn’t see them as a credible threat. 
“Until these procedures are de-skilled, it’s very hard to imagine not [having sales reps in the OR],” Lobo said. “I’m not seeing it impact us in any meaningful way.”
Earlier this week Smith & Nephew CEO Olivier Bohoun touted his company’s Syncera pilot as “disruptive of the commercial model,” noting that the British orthopedic maker is seeing profit margins “equivalent with the classic old-style [hip and knee] business.”