Lima sets the stage to be a key player in the Knee market.
Lima Corporate has entered into an agreement with Zimmer Holdings Inc. to purchase the Zimmer® Unicompartmental High Flex Knee (ZUK) and the Biomet® Discovery™ Elbow System within the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland markets, as well as the Biomet® Vanguard™ Complete Knee System for Denmark and Sweden. The European Commission has adopted the decision to approve Lima Corporate as a suitable buyer. The agreement between Lima and Zimmer® will become effective after the merger between Zimmer® and Biomet® has been closed.
The total knee replacement market in Europe was estimated to be more than $1 billion in 2013 and is expected to continue to grow. Currently Lima is not present in the UNI knee segment and, with a leading product such as ZUK, Lima can enter this segment while expanding the use of the Physica system, the new Lima total knee launching this week in Paris. In addition, Lima will also take over the Biomet® Vanguard™ Complete Knee System for Denmark and Sweden through a specific license agreement, in countries where the Vanguard™ Knee is the leading choice in knee reconstruction. The agreement also transfers to Lima the non-exclusive rights for the manufacturing, marketing and sale of an exact copy of the Vanguard™ Knee in the EEA.
“With the launch of Physica, the acquisition of ZUK puts Lima on the map as a serious player in the knee market,” said Luigi Ferrari, CEO of Lima Corporate. “To be focused on our historical markets, we decided that the EEA and Switzerland markets would best fit our strategy” Mr. Ferrari added.
Also within this agreement, Lima will purchase the Biomet® Discovery™ Elbow System for the EEA and Switzerland markets. “The Discovery™ Elbow will allow Lima to expand and strengthen our leading position by offering a more complete portfolio in the extremities segment,” Mr. Ferrari commented.
