By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Johnson & Johnson is rebranding its medical device companies, including Depuy Synthes, the founding company where orthopedics first originated.
J&J announced a month ago that Ethicon, DePuy Synthes, Biosense Webster, Abiomed and CERENOVUS will now go by “Johnson & Johnson MedTech.”
Signage outside the DePuy facility on US 30 changed about a week ago and now reads Johnson and Johnson.
While it’s not an Earth-shaking development, for Warsaw it means the first name in orthopedics will likely fall by the wayside.
In an email to News Now Warsaw on Monday, the company said the change is the next step in Johnson & Johnson’s updated brand and visual identity announced in September 2023.
This move underscores Johnson & Johnson’s leadership in medical technology with a focus on cardiovascular, orthopedic, surgery and vision solutions, the company said.
The announcement has no impact on the medical technology products and solutions currently offered to customers, the company said.
The name change follows a trend in which the term orthopedics is often being replaced by “Medtech.”
That was readily apparent at a recent Plug and Play event in Winona Lake that brought together dozens of entrepreneurs.
Bob Vitoux, a former executive with DePuy who now oversees Orthoworx, said the change in terminology reflects the evolving technology. For decades, orthopedics was all about metal and plastic instrumentation but now has a much more expansive use of technology.
“In a lot of ways, what we’re really seeing with the move to medtech is just the continued advancement of that use of technology and data in the business going forward,” Vitoux said.
While the name Revra DePuy will forever be cemented in the history of orthopedics, Vitoux said he believes the name Depuy will continue to be ingrained in the minds of those in the medical field despite the name change.
“It’s the end of, potentially the era of Revra DePuy, being the origin going back to 1895 — this is now the new chapter of where we’re headed,” he said.
He said he believes the respect the J&J name carries with it in the healthcare industry will prove to be beneficial for the local identity.
Several people said they agreed that the name Depuy Synthes was somewhat awkward for those outside of Warsaw and not familiar with the company.
Some former DePuy employees reached out to News Now Warsaw with their thoughts. Hans Kusserow, who had a long career with the company and now lives out west, said he didn’t think it was that big of a deal.
“Being the first company in orthopedics, there’s pride in that, and losing the name does take away something from it, but that’s life, isn’t it?” Kusserow said.
Another said he believes the company will always be known by local workers as DePuy.
