Globus Acquires Nevro — What This Means for the Future of Spinal Cord Stimulation
If you explore the program for the LSI USA '25 partnering event on our website, you’ll notice a panel hosted by John Babitt of 安永 .
"Medtech 2025 — Here Come the Deals."
Simple and accurate summary of what we're currently seeing, foreshadowing of what may coming, and a can't-miss panel session with Adam Lubart , Greg Larkin , and Mitch Hill .
On February 6th, the deals kept coming as Globus Medical announced plans to acquire Nevro , adding Nevro’s neuromodulation solutions to its portfolio of musculoskeletal products. Valued at around $250 million, the deal is expected to close in Q2 2025.
Let’s dive into the details of this acquisition, the case for the orthopedic powerhouse to move into the Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and neuromodulation market, and the numbers driving this space.
Why Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS)?
Let's start with some context on the spinal cord stimulation (SCS) market.
Chronic pain remains one of the toughest conditions to manage, often leading to long-term reliance on opioids and other medications.
Globally, about 1.5 billion adults, or around 20% worldwide, suffer from chronic pain. In the U.S., this number and proportion is even higher, with approximately 51.6 million adults (24%) affected.
For decades, SCS has provided an alternative: a device that modulates pain signals before they reach the brain.
As the burden of chronic pain continues to rise, advancements in SCS technology are enhancing its effectiveness, broadening its accessibility, and making it an increasingly viable option for millions.
SCS by The Numbers
To understand this acquisition, let's look to the numbers.
According to LSI’s Market Analysis and Projections, a global marketing sizing and opportunity analysis database covering hundreds of markets, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is the largest segment of the $6 billion global neuromodulation market, accounting for roughly 42% of total product sales, with a market value of $2.5 billion.
This market is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 4.4% from 2024 to 2029. However, the market remains under-penetrated.
In the U.S. alone, approximately 57,000 SCS implant procedures were performed in 2024. That data comes from LSI’s Global Surgical Procedure Volumes database, a trusted resource with coverage of 300+ diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in 12 major categories across 37 countries.
Incidence data for new cases of chronic pain in the U.S. suggest an incidence rate of 52.4 new cases per 1,000 persons per year, which translates to approximately 17 to 18 million cases of chronic pain.
Although SCS is not a first-line therapy, clinical data points to its cost-effectiveness for long-term pain management. See here one of the many systematic reviews on the topic.
Globus Medical is positioning itself to tap into this growing market. Nevro’s most recent annual revenue figures show its Senza and HFX products generated $409 million, which gives Nevro about a 16.4% market share, though the company saw a 4% revenue decline from 2023.
美敦力 dominates the space, with competitors like 波科 , 雅培 , and Saluda Medical also claiming significant share.
Globus has stated that its commercial and operational strengths will accelerate Nevro's technology adoption, allowing for faster market penetration.
LSI's Neuromodulation Market Intelligence Package can deliver answers on market size, opportunities, trends, key players, hot startups, funding activity, and factors fueling growth.
Start with our updated Neuromodulation Devices Market Snapshot 2024-2028, available now on our website.
Elephant in the Room: Opioids
One of the biggest drivers of SCS growth is the rising demand for opioid-free pain management solutions. With growing concerns over opioid dependence, side effects, and diminishing effectiveness, both patients and providers are seeking long-term alternatives.
By delivering sustained pain relief without pharmaceuticals, SCS improves quality of life while lowering the risks tied to prolonged medication use.
Advancements in SCS Technology
To make SCS more effective and accessible, manufacturers are developing technology that is poised to enhance usability, reduce side effects, and improve long-term outcomes:
Companies to Watch in SCS
As the multinational players expand their SCS portfolios, we’re also tracking a number of companies that are developing their own innovative technologies, with aspirations to capture a piece of the growing market.
There are a number of exciting companies on our analyst team's watchlist. Through LSI's global partnering events (LSI USA, LSI Europe, LSI Asia), we have a front row seat to the leading innovators in medtech, and continue to track industry-wide private companies and deals in our Companies & Deals Database.
One company we're closely following; #LSIAlumni WISE SpA.
As WISE's CEO Luca Ravagnan explains in his presentation at LSI Europe , SCS is a multi-billion dollar market opportunity, ripe for the taking
"By stimulating the spine it is possible to block pain signals before it reaches the brain. This is a market that already exists, it’s [going to be] a $3 billion market, and there are already well established players in this market: Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Abbott, and Nevro fighting for market share and this is what we like…”
Wise's competitive advantage is built on a proprietary technology, developed at the University of Milan, that allows for the insertion of electronic microcircuits in biocompatible silicones. With this, WISE is able to generate highly elastic electrodes of supreme reliability that resist stretching and twisting without the risk of dislocation or electrical failure.
With its its proprietary Supersonic Technology, the company's is focused on two core areas: neuromonitoring and neuromodulation.
WISE's lead product, the WISE Cortical Strip, is a single-use medical device for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring during brain tumor and epilepsy surgeries. In addition, the company is developing the Heron lead, an expandable percutaneous paddle lead for spinal cord stimulation.
You can view WISE's full presentation in LSI's Video Library.
We're closely following a breadth of innovation in this space, with multiple other companies making waves, including:
Micro-Leads Medical #LSIAlumni
SeeNeuro
The Future of Spinal Cord Stimulation
As the market evolves, spinal cord stimulation is positioned to be a key tool in the fight against chronic pain (and, opioid reliance), offering a drug-free, personalized, and increasingly- effective solution for millions of patients worldwide.
The spinal cord stimulation market will be driven by:
More From LSI Market Intelligence
Until next week,
All data in this article is sourced from LSI's Market Intelligence Team
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