Dental Implant Giant Straumann Sells DTC Clear Aligner Business for $790 Million Equivalent

On August 13, dental implant giant Straumann Group sold its direct-to-consumer (DTC) clear aligner business to Impress, a provider of transparent orthodontic aligners. Although the transaction amount was not disclosed, Straumann Group projected in its latest financial report that the total net assets transferred to Impress would be approximately CHF 95 million (approximately RMB 787 million).

In return, Straumann Group will acquire a 20% non-controlling equity stake in Impress. Additionally, Straumann Group will continue to serve as the primary supplier of Impress clear aligners, maintaining its collaborative partnership with the company.

According to announcements from the Straumann Group, following the divestiture of its clear aligner business, the company will concentrate more efforts on its B2B market strategy in the orthodontics sector.

Headquartered in Switzerland, the Straumann Group is a global leader in dental implants and restorations as well as oral tissue regeneration. Its business spans implant surgery, restorative therapy, orthodontics, digital solutions, and biomaterials, providing products and services to more than 100 countries and regions worldwide. As its products are classified as high-end dental medical devices, the Straumann Group is also referred to within the industry as the “Hermès” of dental implants.

The clear aligner business being sold was acquired by the Straumann Group in 2020 through its purchase of DrSmile, a European provider of clear aligner orthodontic services.

In 2020, the Straumann Group recognized the potential of consumer-facing services and successively acquired DrSmile and the Brazilian orthodontic service provider Smilink, thereby rapidly establishing direct-to-consumer service capabilities. Both companies share a common trait: they adopted the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model for selling their products and services.

In 2021, DrSmile’s unique products and technologies created new growth drivers for the Straumann Group. Its products were rapidly rolled out across seven European countries, including Austria, Germany, and France, enabling the Straumann Group to quickly enter and expand its market share in the clear aligner segment.

In 2023, DrSmile’s business declined due to multiple factors. The Straumann Group reassessed the value of this business, resulting in a one-time non-cash impairment charge of CHF 153 million (approximately RMB 1.267 billion). Consequently, the Straumann Group decided to sell it to Impress, a supplier of clear aligners.

DrSmile's business fluctuations are mainly influenced by two aspects:

On one hand, the severe global economic environment has led to a decline in consumer willingness to spend on non-essential items such as beauty and health products, causing fluctuations in the short-term growth of the clear aligner market, particularly in regions significantly impacted by economic shocks.

On the other hand, the clear aligner market has evolved into a competitive landscape featuring multiple domestic and international brands, including Invisalign, Angelalign, and Smartee. These brands are continuously enhancing their competitiveness through technological innovation, product optimization, marketing strategies, and global expansion.

Furthermore, the global expansion of Chinese medical device companies has also influenced the landscape of overseas markets. Taking Europe, a key sales market for DrSmile, as an example, Modern Dental Group, a pioneer among Chinese dental enterprises going global, generated its highest revenue in the European market, reaching HK$1.399 billion in 2023 and continuing to rise. Angelalign, which launched its international business in 2023, has entered more than 30 countries and regions, with Europe being one of its fastest-growing markets.

The other party to this transaction, Impress Group, was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. As a leading supplier of orthodontic aligners in Europe, it operates clinic networks in countries including Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Portugal. Reportedly, through the acquisition of DrSmile, Impress Group will combine high-quality clinical treatment with large-scale consumer marketing expertise to establish a leadership position in the direct-to-consumer orthodontics sector in Europe.

In August 2024, the Straumann Group released its half-year financial report for 2024. The Group achieved significant revenue growth in the first half of 2024, reporting revenues of CHF 1.3 billion (RMB 10.77 billion), with organic revenue growth reaching 16.1%. This growth trend indicates that the Straumann Group continues to expand its global operations and maintains strong market competitiveness.

From a regional perspective, the Asia-Pacific region is one of Straumann Group’s fastest-growing markets, achieving a robust growth rate of 19%. Notably, despite the gradual normalization of the baseline in China, the country still delivered significant overall growth.

Straumann Group’s success in the Chinese market is attributable to its long-term commitment and strategic presence spanning more than two decades. Since entering China in 1999, Straumann Group has been providing dental implants and restorative products, digital solutions, orthodontic services, biomaterials, and multi-platform implant restoration systems to dentists and patients across the country.

In 2019, the Straumann Group partnered with Zhengli Technology to launch a new brand, Smyletec (Ruisuqi), positioned for mid-to-high-end clinics. In 2022, it invested RMB 1.2 billion to build Asia’s first integrated facility combining production, training, and innovation, dedicated to the industrialization of high-end dental implants. In 2023, it acquired AlliedStar, a well-known Chinese digital dentistry company, thereby enriching the Straumann Group’s intraoral scanner product portfolio.

Notably, the Straumann Group has also actively participated in China’s centralized procurement policy for dental implants, with multiple brands under its portfolio—including Straumann, Volare, and MegaGen—successfully winning bids. Through centralized procurement, the prices of Straumann’s products have been significantly reduced, enabling more patients to access high-quality dental implant services.

Since China launched its first large-scale centralized procurement alliance for dental implants in January 2023, various regions have sequentially initiated centralized procurement programs for dental implant systems. Consequently, competition within the oral healthcare industry has become increasingly intense, with price wars erupting one after another. Where is the dental implant industry headed?

First is convenience, enhancing user experience at the clinical end, such as reducing implant waiting times, etc.. Traditional implant therapy requires waiting for the extraction socket to heal fully before placing the implant, a process that can take anywhere from several months to a year. Consequently, major brands have launched innovative implants designed for “immediate implantation.” For instance, Weigao Jielikang Bio, a domestic brand, has introduced its third dental implant system, “Xteady,” which demonstrates significant advantages in stability in immediate implantation cases.

Next is personalization, which meets users’ more unique and personalized needs.Taking the abutment, which connects the dental crown above and the implant below, as an example. According to VCBeat, domestic abutments in China were previously dominated by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) finished products, which limited their adaptability to various gingival conditions. Gaofeng Medical, a Chinese brand, has solved this problem by reducing the production time for a single customized abutment from 3 hours to 20 minutes, and for frameworks from 12 hours to under 3 hours. Additionally, it obtained the first Class III medical device registration certificate for customized abutments in China.

Finally, specialization is reflected in addressing the scarcity of dental professionals and improving clinical efficiency.in areas such as dental implant surgical robots. At the end of 2023, Fengzhun Robotics Technology Co., Ltd.’s “Navigation and Positioning System for Dental Implant Surgery” received a Class III medical device registration certificate. This surgical robot represents an application-level development and can perform approximately 80% of procedures in dental implant treatment, including complex cases such as partial or complete edentulism and severe alveolar bone deficiency.

As can be seen, behind the price wars triggered by the centralized procurement of dental implants, an increasing number of innovative domestic brands are emerging. It is believed that with continued investment in research and development by Chinese brands, the industry will see more Chinese products that are competitive on a global scale.