Lisa Simpson
Sep 10,2009
In: Finance

Johnson & Johnson Gets the Green Signal for New Hip Replacement System

jnj

The U.S. advisory panel has now backed the new hip replacement scheme of Johnson and Johnson. It will be more lasting and durable than the implants presently available.

A committee of the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously giving the green signal to the company’s Acetabular Hip System. It is an implant having a ceramic head and a metal liner. This design of ceramic on metal is supposed to reduce the wear and tear related to implants having metal on metal.

A study funded by Johnson & Johnson found the new implant system was as good as the metal on metal system on those who had the implant fixed for the last two years.

The members of the advisory board are convinced that the device “is both safe and efficacious”. The panelists gave their backing to the plan of DePuy to study the performance of the implant on a patient group for a period of ten years.

If it is cleared then this device fro J&J will be vying with artificial hips from other noted companies that produce artificial hips.

Pain and immobility due to arthritis can be relieved by the implantation of artificial hips. In USA annually 193,000 hip replacements take place according to DePuy.

These ceramic on metal artificial hips manufactured by J&J are being used in more than 40 countries from 2007. But it has not been introduced in USA as yet.

The latest laboratory tests proved that these hips reported less wear and tear problems as compared to the metal on metal variety. Studies conducted for two years on patients noted similar rates of success in pain relief with either of the two types of hip replacements. The ceramic on metal type lasts longer without negatively affecting safety and effectiveness.

The latest hip replacement did not lower the levels of metal ions reacting on the body as would have been expected. These metal ions are particles that get released into the person’s body and get detected in the blood and urine of the patients. Concerns have been expressed that this may lead to build up to cancer formation, reactions on the immune system or other types of damages on the body if the hip replacement system is used for a good number of years. Long term data is till now limited but till now no adverse results from the use of metal hips have been reported.