Zimmer Knee's Feminine Twist

Zimmer's (ZMH) latest marketing gamble rests on a simple observation: Women complain more than men do.

Or they seem to after total knee replacements, at least. So, Zimmer has now rolled out a high-end knee tailored specifically for women.

Knee replacements boast high success rates among both men and women already. But "this is not marketing hype," insists Zimmer CEO Ray Elliott. "This is some great science."

Zimmer's new "Gender Solutions" knee hits the market at a particularly crucial time, as device makers struggle to secure price increases for their traditional orthopedic implants and remain short on breakthrough technologies that could reshape the industry.

Like drug manufacturers before them, orthopedic device makers have been scrambling for new ways to grow -- and attracting some criticism in the process. The companies have been accused of developing new devices that seem like gimmicks at best -- and health threats at worst -- as they seek to reignite their once highflying stocks.

Of course, Zimmer has come under fire already. Just a few years ago, the company started promoting a new minimally invasive hip-replacement surgery that led to failures and never really took off.

Today, TheStreet.com offers up a three-part series that takes a closer look at some of the industry's latest offerings.

New Trend

Robert Booth, a prominent orthopedic surgeon who helped develop Zimmer's new device, foresees the beginning of a trend.

"Women can wear men's clothing and shoes, but most prefer clothing and shoes made for them," Booth observes. "That's because women are shaped differently than men. It's the same with knees, and it makes perfect sense to design knee implants with women in mind -- particularly considering that women are by far the majority of the knee-replacement patient population."

Zimmer will begin reaching out to those women soon through direct-to-consumer advertising. Ultimately, the company hopes to lure more women into the operating room -- including many who have resisted knee-replacement surgery so far -- with promises of better outcomes in the end.

Of course, Zimmer could use a new success story right now. The device maker, which relies on orthopedic implant sales more than most, has seen its stock punished over the past year as prices for its core products continue to come under pressure. The company is now banking on new products like Gender Solutions to accelerate sales and enable it to hit its aggressive full-year targets.

Zimmer can sell Gender Solutions at a premium because it ranks as a new technology using the company's expensive "high-flex" knee system. But some critics seem to wonder whether the company -- and those that follow it -- should be going down that path at all.

"It is unclear how much traction they will get from these products," writes Leerink Swann analyst Jason Wittes, who has a market-perform rating on Zimmer's stock. "But given the feedback thus far, we do question whether the orthopedic companies are going too far in promoting products with obvious marketing appeal but little clinical backing."