DePuy Franchise Historical Timeline

Since the pioneering days of DePuy Orthopaedics as the first commercial orthopedics company in the United States, the DePuy Franchise has had a focused commitment to Restoring the Joy of Motion™ for patients.

Each of the companies that comprises the DePuy Franchise has a celebrated history, spanning more than one hundred years, and each has evolved to meet the needs of the changing orthopaedic and neurological marketplace.  The history that weaves the fabric of the DePuy companies is one that is rich with innovation and demonstrates sustained leadership in an ever-changing landscape of patient and professional needs.

1895

Revra DePuy founds DePuy Manufacturing (later to become DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.) in Warsaw, Indiana, on the promise of a fiber splint to replace the wooden barrel staves then used to set fractures.  DePuy became the first commercial orthopaedic manufacturer in the world.

1904

After Thomas Codman introduces his Ether Pocket Cupping Instrument in the 1830s in Boston, MA, a manufacturing business is born dedicated to medical and surgical devices.  By the beginning of the 20th century, the company has diversified its business to include a line of medical, surgical, dental and veterinary instruments and ear, nose, and throat instruments, including popular atomizers used in the treatment of respiratory diseases.  Codman & Shurtleff, Inc. is incorporated.

1911

Codman & Shurtleff, Inc. begins a long and important relationship with Harvey Cushing, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital.  Early collaborations with Dr. Cushing resulted in the design and manufacture of hemostatic silver clip instruments and in 1914, his famous hypophysectomy instruments for the removal of the pituitary gland.  As one of the first surgeons to specialize in surgery of the head, he is often referred to as the "father of neurosurgery." This relationship with Cushing established Codman’s unique position in supplying the needs of neurosurgeons around the world.

1940s

Working with neurosurgeons James L. Poppen and Ralph B. Cloward, Codman develops and manufactures a set of instruments that allows anterior approach to cervical spine for treatment of diseases and herniated intervertebral discs.

1950s

Codman develops Bipolar Coagulator and insulated forceps, allowing neurosurgeons to control bleeding with electrical current without fear of injuring delicate adjacent tissue.

1960s 

Codman partners with Dr. Albert L. Rhoton, Jr., to design sets of instruments for new field of microsurgery.

1962

Working to provide a solution to the problem of arthritic pain and loss of joint mobility, Sir John Charnley develops the Charnley® Hip, now manufactured and sold by DePuy Orthopaedics.  This first low-friction hip implant is considered the “gold standard” in cemented hip arthroplasty.

1964

Codman & Shurtleff, Inc. joins the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies when it is acquired by Ethicon, Inc. Two years later, Codman obtains affiliate status as a freestanding Johnson & Johnson subsidiary.  In 1994, the Company moves to its present corporate headquarters in Raynham, Massachusetts.

1968

Indianapolis-based diagnostics company Bio-Dynamics buys DePuy.  DePuy receives exclusive marketing rights to the Muller Hip, developed by Maurice E Muller, one of the pioneers in total hip arthroplasty.

1970s

Codman introduces hip prosthesis for total hip replacement, marking the beginning of Johnson & Johnson Orthopaedics.

1974

Boehringer Mannheim purchases Bio-Dynamics and, in turn, DePuy.

1975

DePuy relocates to its present location at 700 Orthopaedic Drive, Warsaw, Indiana.

1979-1980 

DePuy Orthopaedics begins offering the unrivaled method of metal sintering, Porocoat® Porous Coating, enhancing the tissue ingrowth DePuy systems.  This sintering process has the longest clinical history of any porous surface.

1983

Dr. Arthur Steffee, developer of the VSP™ Spine System, which popularized the use of pedicle screws and spine plates for spinal fusion, founded AcroMed in Cleveland, Ohio. (The company was to later become DePuy Acromed and is now DePuy Spine.)

The DePuy Orthopaedics AML® Hip became the first “cementless,” porous-coated implant indicated for biologic fixation in the United States.

1984

DePuy Orthopaedics introduces the LCS® Total Knee System, then the only mobile bearing knee system approved for use in the United States. The mobile bearings are designed to more closely duplicate the biomechanics of a normal knee while maintaining low contact stress between the bearing surfaces.

1985

Mitek is founded by Jim Nicholson and Arthur Collias, who both had done their engineering graduate work at MIT – thus the company was named Mitek.  In 1985, they had three employees, including themselves and a third founding partner, $3,000 in capital, and a small basement office in Canton, Massachusetts.

1988

DePuy acquires Chevalier AG, a small Swiss orthopaedic company and a new base for European operations takes hold in Switzerland.

Only a three-year old company, Mitek puts it first anchor, the GI, into clinical trials.

1989

Mitek receives FDA approval to sell anchors in the United States.

1990

Boehringer Mannheim purchases Charles F. Thackray Ltd. in Leeds, England.  This acquisition brings together two of the world's leading manufacturers of total hip replacements. The combination of DePuy's reputation for pioneering biological fixation and Thackray's reputation for its work with cement fixation is formidable.  Working with the "father" of modern hip replacement surgery, Sir John Charnley, Thackray began manufacturing the Charnley Hip System in 1963.  Thackray now operates under the name DePuy International.

1991

DePuy International Ltd. is established in Leeds, England, to serve as the headquarters outside the U.S., Canada and South America.

DePuy acquires the Rotek Company in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  DePuy began working with Rotek in 1980 when the fledgling company began manufacturing DePuy's environmental protection line.  For ten years, DePuy was Rotek's single largest customer and in 1991, when the owner retired, DePuy acquired the company.

Codman acquires Medos Sarl, developer of HAKIM® Programmable valve.

1992

Expanded Optics, a Westminster, California-based arthroscope manufacturer acquires Thackray-owned Scope Optics.  DePuy, in turn, takes a twenty percent interest in Expanded Optics, moving DePuy into the fast- growing area of arthroscopic instruments and repair services.

1993
DePuy jointly forms a new company with Biedermann Motech, a spinal products manufacturer located in Schwennigen, Germany.  The new company, DePuy Motech Inc., develops, manufactures and markets spinal implants. This marks DePuy's re-entry into the spinal implant market.

1994

DePuy's parent company, Corange Ltd., purchases ACE Medical Company,  a manufacturer of orthopaedic trauma products in the U.S., and the number two supplier of trauma products in Japan.  The purchase of ACE, a company with approximately $35 million in worldwide product sales in 1994, diversified DePuy’s position in the orthopaedic marketplace.

ETHICON, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, acquires Mitek.

1996

DePuy acquires the former Orthopedic Technology, Inc., which expands its sports medicine business.  The company manufactures and markets arthroscopy instruments, tissue fixation devices, braces, ankle supports and soft goods.

DePuy, Inc. changes its name to DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc.

The P.F.C.® Sigma™ Total Knee System is launched and designed to provide the surgeon with surgical solutions for a variety of clinical indications.

1997

DePuy, Inc. and the Landanger family sign an agreement for DePuy to purchase 1,939,453 shares in Landanger-Camus. Landanger-Camus is the leading French manufacturer of hip implants and one of the leading distributors of orthopaedic devices and supplies.

Roche enters into an agreement with the owners of Corange Ltd., Bermuda, to purchase all shares in Corange.  Corange Ltd. is sole owner of the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals business of the Boehringer Mannheim Group.  Corange also holds 84.2% of the shares in DePuy, Inc. The value of the transaction is expected to be around 11 billion US dollars.

Mitek launches Panalok, the first suture composed of an absorbable material.

1998 

Roche officially becomes the parent company of DePuy and Boehringer Mannheim.

DePuy purchases Cleveland-based AcroMed, the second largest spinal company.  This acquisition makes DePuy Motech the second largest spinal company.

DePuy, the oldest manufacturer of orthopaedic implants in the United States, is acquired by Johnson & Johnson in a $3.7 billion transaction.

Mitek’s second product, the GII anchor, approved for use in 23 areas of the body, is the most  widely used anchor in the world.

Codman introduces the CODMAN® HAKIM® Programmable Value (CHPV).

1999

DePuy announces that its trauma division, DePuy ACE, will relocate from El Segundo, California, to Warsaw, Indiana.  Also announced is DePuy AcroMed's move from Cleveland, Ohio, to Raynham, Massachusetts.

DePuy AcroMed launched its first major product, the Lumbar I/F CAGE™.  The Lumbar I/F CAGE went through almost 10 years of clinical research prior to its commercial debut.

DePuy OrthoTech’s arthroscopy product line is transferred to Mitek, a division of Ethicon to better position related businesses within the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

2000

The P.F.C.® Sigma RP (rotating platform) Knee System is launched by DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. Mitek acquires Innovasive Devices, expanding the breadth of the company’s knee and shoulder portfolio.

2001

DePuy Orthopaedics launches the Pinnacle® Acetabular Cup System, a hip-bearing system or hips that provides surgeons with the option of choosing a polyethylene or metal insert for use with the same outer titanium cup that replaces the socket of the natural hip.

2002

Codman introduces the technically innovative BACTISEAL® Antibiotic Impregnated Catheter.

2003

DePuy AcroMed changes its name to DePuy Spine, to reflect the growth of its product portfolio and the scope of its vision for the future.

DePuy expanded its portfolio in the field of orthopaedics and spine surgery with the acquisitions of Orquest, Inc., and Link Spine Group, Inc.

Mitek becomes part of the DePuy franchise and is renamed DePuy Mitek, Inc.

2004

The CHARITÉ™ Artificial Disc from DePuy Spine, Inc., receives approval in the U.S.  This new motion preserving device offers an alternative to spinal fusion surgery.

2004-2005

DePuy Orthopaedics began a direct-to-consumer education campaign to television, recognizing an unmet need to help patients better understand solutions to joint pain. Additionally, Codman launched a broad scale education campaign on Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), designed to raise awareness about diagnosis and treatment of this condition.

In 2005, working with the US Government and Military, the CODMAN® ICP MICROSENSOR™ is adopted as diagnostic standard for intracranial pressure measurement for head injury patients across all branches of the military.

2006

DePuy Orthopaedics acquires Hand Innovations LLC, a privately held manufacturer of widely used fracture fixation products for the upper extremities.  The acquisition provides DePuy Orthopaedics with leading technology in the plating business, the fastest growing and most under penetrated segment of the worldwide extremities market.

DePuy Orthopaedics releases the newest member of its mobile bearing knee implant family, the P.F.C. Sigma® RP-F Knee System™, the only FDA-approved high flexion (deep knee bending) Rotating Platform knee replacement.

DePuy Mitek acquires Future Medical Systems S.A. (FMS) a market leader in Europe that primarily develops, manufactures and markets arthroscopic fluid management systems.  Future Medical Systems' fluid management systems have dramatically changed the treatment of demanding arthroscopic surgical procedures such as rotator cuff repair and ACL replacement by providing outstanding visualization of the surgical site.

2007 

DePuy Franchise proudly supports the role of Johnson & Johnson as an Official Partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

DePuy Orthopaedics launches Pinnacle® Hip Solutions, with TrueGlide Technology, a modular hip-bearing system that provides surgeons with the freedom to choose the bearing surface and cup option that best meets the individual needs of each patient.   With Pinnacle, surgeons can choose either ultra-low wear polyethylene liners or metal inserts, all in the same titanium cup to replace the socket of the patient's natural hip.

DePuy Spine entered into a strategic collaboration with Axial Biotech, Inc. to develop a gene-based test to predict the progression of scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine that primarily affects children.

DePuy Spine acquired assets related to the treatment of vertebral compression fractures from Disc-O-Tech Medical Technologies to bring treatments for the aging spine to market.