The 75 direct sales force dedicated to boost Stryker’s (NYSE: SYK)foot and ankle business unit had a stellar year in 2012, said CEO Kevin Lobo, to a packed room at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. The unit had a 40 percent increase in U.S. sales in the fourth quarter. “If you think about Stryker, we were just above the ‘other’ category in the foot and ankle business a few years ago,” Lobo said. “Based on Q4 and I haven’t seen Wright Medical’s numbers yet, we are breathing down their necks.” The unit is a relatively new addition to Stryker’s business units. Lobo said it took a few quarters in the beginning of 2012 to “find our feet” (no pun intended), but in retrospect, it was a smart decision to create a dedicated sales team for the unit. Now the company has been able to hire sales people away from market leaders like Wright Medical and Arthrex.
