WARSAW, IND. - February 3, 2004--Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SWX: ZMH) announced today that it is partnering with one of the world's most prestigious medical teaching institutions--Johns Hopkins University--to advance Minimally Invasive Solutions™ (MIS™) Procedures and Technologies.
Under terms of the agreement, Johns Hopkins University, under the direction of Frank J. Frassica, M.D., Chairman, Department of Orthopaedics and Robert A. Robinson Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, will train orthopaedic surgeons to use Zimmer's minimally invasive technologies and participate in MIS product refinement. The University will function as a Zimmer Institute teaching facility and will become a Center of Excellence for MIS patient care.
The Johns Hopkins team has been performing less invasive techniques for joint replacement surgery for years. The Johns Hopkins facility has technologically advanced surgical training stations enabling surgeons to learn and practice these advanced techniques prior to bringing them to the operating room.
"We are honored to be collaborating with Johns Hopkins University to expand the patient benefits of MIS joint replacement and to demonstrate the economic benefits for our entire health care system," said Zimmer Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ray Elliott. "This important multi-year relationship is new for us and we are excited about combining these two great names in orthopaedics. We will be working together to advance promising concepts with potential clinical benefit for patients and economic advantages for the health care system."
The alliance between Zimmer and Hopkins promises to make the patient benefits of Zimmer's MIS joint replacement much more widely available than is the case today.
Johns Hopkins is the Zimmer Institute's first new major United States site. The Zimmer Institute is an educational system focused on expanding the availability of MIS joint replacement by transferring the required skills and knowledge to surgeons and other health care professionals. Zimmer, the acknowledged leader in applying MIS concepts to joint replacement, opened the hub location of the Zimmer Institute at the company's headquarters in Warsaw, Indiana, in 2003. Zimmer said that its network of Zimmer Institute satellite locations will contribute to a common pool of data and best practices, enabling each partner to benefit from the experience and developments of the others. The company expects to provide training for more than 1,400 surgeons during 2004 at all Institute locations.
The company has indicated that it expects to affiliate with approximately 10 to 12 North American and 10 international institutions that will provide Zimmer Institute surgeon education.
About Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 and is one of the world's preeminent universities. The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine was founded in 1893 and is considered an international leader in many fields. Often cited as the innovator of research-based medicine, the school has for more than nine years ranked first among the nation's medical schools in research money awarded through the peer-reviewed mechanism of the National Institutes of Health. Surveys by U.S. News & World Report rank the School of Medicine among the top two medical schools in the nation, and the biomedical engineering program has been ranked first in the nation. The Johns Hopkins Hospital has been ranked as the number one hospital nationally for 13 consecutive years.
About Zimmer Holdings
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer is the worldwide #1 pure-play orthopaedic leader in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopaedic surgical products. In October, 2003, the company finalized its acquisition of Centerpulse AG, a Switzerland-based orthopaedics company and the leader in the European reconstructive market. The new Zimmer has operations in more than 24 countries around the world and sells products in more than 80 countries. For the year 2002, the pro forma worldwide combined revenues of Zimmer and Centerpulse were approximately $2.2 billion. On a combined basis, the new Zimmer is supported by the efforts of nearly 7,000 employees.
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Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "targets," "forecasts," and "seeks" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to successfully integrate Centerpulse AG, price and product competition, rapid technological development, demographic changes, dependence on new product development, the mix of our products and services, supply and prices of raw materials and products, customer demand for our products and services, control of costs and expenses, our ability to form and implement alliances, international growth, U.S. and foreign government regulation, product liability and intellectual property litigation losses, reimbursement levels from third-party payors, general industry and market conditions and growth rates and general domestic and international economic conditions including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the disclosure materials filed by Zimmer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Zimmer disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.