Synthes

Synthes Holding AG

Type	Subsidiary aktiengesellschaft
Industry	Health care
Founded	1999
Headquarters	Solothurn, Switzerland (corporate), West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States (operational)
Key people	Hansjörg Wyss (Chairman), Michel Orsinger (President and CEO)
Products	Physical trauma, spine, craniofacial, mandible and chest implants, medical power tools, biomaterials
Revenue	US $3.687 billion (2010)
Operating income	US $1.283 billion (2010)
Profit	US $907.7 million (2010)
Total assets	US $7.924 billion (end 2010)
Total equity	US $6.739 billion (end 2010)
Number of employees	11,430 (end 2010)
Parent	Johnson & Johnson
Website	www.synthes.com

Synthes Holding AG (formerly Synthes-Stratec) is a multinational medical device manufacturer based in Solothurn, Switzerland and West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the world's largest maker of implants to mend bone fractures, and also produces surgical power tools and advanced biomaterials.

In June 2012 Synthes was sold by its chairman, former CEO and largest shareholder Hansjörg Wyss to Johnson & Johnson for $19.7 billion in cash and stock. It is now part of their DePuy franchise.

Synthes was originally established in 1960 as a trademark of the non-profit institute Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (English: Association for the Study of Internal Fixation, AO/ASIF),

The Synthes trademark was applied to internal fixation implants produced under license by its industrial partners, Straumann Group and Mathys Medizinaltechnik. In 1975 Synthes USA, a firm founded by Harvard graduate Hansjörg Wyss, became the third company to form an alliance with AO/ASIF. Throughout the decade, Straumann and Mathys expanded their coverage around the rest of the world.

In 1990 Straumann spun off its implant business into a separate privately owned company, Stratec Medical. Stratec partially listed its shares on the SWX Swiss Exchange through an initial public offering six years later, while Synthes USA and Mathys remained in private hands.