Operations
Smith & Nephew operates in three market segments through separate "global business units" under the Smith & Nephew brand name:
- Advanced wound management: advanced treatments for difficult wounds.
- Endoscopy: products for minimally invasive surgery, based in Andover, Massachusetts.
- Orthopaedics: hip and knee implants and trauma products, based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Smith & Nephew has a track record of bringing innovative new products to market that provide better clinical outcomes for patients and save costs for healthcare providers. This is the primary focus of its fourth business unit, Biologics.
The company's business strategy is based on researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing technically innovative and advanced medical devices. In 2008 it invested $152 million in its highly regarded research and development activities – a figure that is currently around 4% of sales. The Biologics business unit, headquartered in North Carolina in the US, has strategic responsibility for product innovation and development and serves the needs of the remaining business units. The company's direct contacts with healthcare providers are a vital link in the chain. Clinicians' views of their present and future needs provide essential impetus for Smith & Nephew's research work.
The company has three focus areas of cross-business research: novel bioresorbable polymers, tissue or cell engineering, and non-invasive stimulation. Scientific Review Boards, comprising eminent academic scientists and medical professionals, provide independent assessments of the quality of the science and engineering in Smith & Nephew's business unit programmes and guidance on emerging science as necessary.
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