DePuy Synthes Announces Agreement With AO Foundation

The DePuy Synthes Companies of Johnson & Johnson and the AO Foundation recently announced a five-year cooperation agreement between the two entities.

The agreement was triggered by the desire to continue to deliver professional education and develop innovations to improve both patient outcomes and efficiency of care, a journey DePuy Synthes and the AO Foundation jointly began in 1960. The innovations and products from DePuy Synthes that come from this joint venture will be utilized in AO educational programs, in which more than 200,000 health care professionals are expected to participate during the next five years, according to a company news release.

The agreement also names DePuy Synthes as the primary industry partner of the AO Technical Commission in trauma and fixation of the musculoskeletal system, spine, craniomaxillofacial, veterinary products and related offerings.

“The AO Foundation and DePuy Synthes Companies have maintained a relationship for 55 years because of a shared passion for advancing patient care,” Ciro Roemer, company group chairman for DePuy Synthes Companies International Markets, said in the release. “Bringing together the perspectives of DePuy Synthes Companies and the AO will help us identify and solve the most pressing clinical issues in musculoskeletal surgery and then teach clinicians to appropriately use those solutions.”

Based in Davos, Switzerland, the AO Foundation describes itsef as a medically-guided nonprofit organization led by an international group of surgeons specialized in the treatment of trauma and musculoskeletal disorders. Founded in 1958 by 13 surgeons, AO today fosters an extensive network of more than 12,000 surgeons, operating room personnel, and scientists in more than 100 countries globally.