Medtronic Inc announced increased net income company-wide in November, however, business at its Memphis-based spine division sagged.
The Minneapolis-based producer of implantable heart devices, insulin pumps and spine surgery products posted overall net income of $902 million (US) for its second quarter of fiscal year 2014, ended October 25, for an increase of 40% year over year. Second quarter revenue totalled $4.2 billion, compared to $4.1 billion during the same period last year, for an increase of 2%.
As reported by The Memphis Daily News, Medtronic saw quarterly revenue growth in its three main business units: the Diabetes Group, Restorative Therapies Group and Cardiac & Vascular Group, all of which grew between 2% and 4% for the quarter.
For Medtronic Spine, which is part of the Restorative Therapies Group, quarterly revenue equalled $746 million, down 3% year-over-year and down 2.5% compared to $765 million from last quarter.
Two of the spinal business’ products – BMP, commercially marketed as rhBMP-2 Infuse Bone Graft, and balloon kyphoplasty – remained as struggling areas for the company. BMP declined worse than expected, at 17% for the quarter, as some physicians continued to reduce their usage through both patient selection and the use of smaller kits.
Infuse Bone Graft sales have continued to suffer since revelations about the company’s handling of studies and marketing of the product. Last year, a US Senate investigation concluded that Medtronic had helped write and edit journal articles about the graft that downplayed its risks.
