Health Industry Today articles from April 1999

Health Industry Today archives from April 1999

Out-of-hospital market for AEDs putting new life into defib sales.(automatic external defibrillators)
April 1, 1999... By John Dalton If the market drivers for defibrillators seem reminiscent of a weary Hollywood script, the resemblance is most decidedly not a case of life imitating art. The life-and-death applications of the device's function are all too...

Latex allergies producing reactions within glove manufacturing market.
April 1, 1999... Numbers alone confirm that health care professionals exposed to latex products with increasing frequency over the last decade have developed allergic reactions to the gloves and other medical staples they use daily. But rather than wring its...

Unique biopsy needle hopes to snare market.(Medsol Corp.'s bone marrow biopsy needle)
April 1, 1999... A product recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and new to the medical device community addresses market needs but also questions for its developer. Dr. Alec Goldenberg, M.D., a hematology and medical oncology...

Rethink sales force as transactional buyers seek to cut selling costs; all products are commodities.(Review)
April 1, 1999... By Donald E.L. Johnson There are tough jobs out there. But few are as difficult as recruiting, training and managing a sales force. And now we're supposed to be Rethinking the Sales Force, redefining selling to create and capture customer...

Can J&J multiply shareholder value by dividing?
April 1, 1999... Industry giant Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N.J., is going through some of the toughest times in its 100-year history, and finds itself forced to defend against calls to become a global village of companies rather than maintain all its...

Articles cite Vision-Sciences products as preventing endoscope contamination.
April 1, 1999... Proprietary technology developed by Vision-Sciences, Inc., Natick, Mass., for its EndoSheath(tm) has been favorably cited in a pair of recent articles examining the growing awareness of endoscope cross contamination. The references follow...

The big get bigger; Mallinckrodt going global.
April 1, 1999... From humble beginnings more than 130 years ago, Mallinckrodt Inc., St. Louis, has grown to $2.4 billion in sales in 1998 and more than 13,000 employees. Now the company has set its sights on expansion that will make it a major player...

Merger/acquisition pace slowed during 1998 in hospital, physician medical group sectors.
April 1, 1999... 1998 was not a banner year in either the hospital merger and acquisition market or the physician medical group M&A arena, according to the Physician Medical Group Acquisition Report issued by Irving Levin Associates, Inc., New Canaan, Conn....

Claims, counterclaims, lawsuit dogging brief, troubled union of MedEcon, MHA.
April 1, 1999... Amid departing members, at least one lawsuit and an alleged search for a buyer, the merger of MedEcon Services, Louisville, Ky., and Managed Healthcare Associates (MHA), Florham Park, N.J., may not survive its first year. The GPO now...

Medline Industries, Inc.(contract with Kaiser Permanente for surgical gloves)
April 1, 1999... Medline Industries, Inc., Mundelein, Ill., has been awarded an exclusive national standard contract by Kaiser Permanente to supply Kaiser's medical facilities with synthetic and powder-free latex general surgical and orthopedic gloves. The...

Smith & Nephew, Inc.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... Smith & Nephew, Inc., Memphis, Tenn., has signed a two-year agreement with AmeriNet, Inc., St. Louis, to provide its endoscopy, orthopedic, ENT, advanced wound care, bracing, casting and rehabilitation products to AmeriNet's 8,000 members,...

St. John Companies, Inc.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... The St. John Companies, Inc., Santa Clarita, Calif., has reached a three-year contract agreement with The Mid-Atlantic Group Network of Shares Services, Inc. (MAGNET) group purchasing organization, Mechanicsburg, Pa., to market St. John's...

Alere Medical Inc.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... Alere Medical Inc. of San Francisco, designers and manufacturers of the Alere Heart Failure Program, has contracted with PacifiCare of Texas, Inc., and PacifiCare of Oklahoma, Inc., to provide daily, physician- directed monitoring of group...

Horizon Medical Products, Inc.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... Horizon Medical Products, Inc., Atlanta, has been awarded a five-year purchasing agreement with Premier Purchasing Partners to provide vascular access ports, port introducers and Huber needles to Premier member institutions. The awarded...

BioLase Technology, Inc.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... BioLase Technology, Inc., San Clemente, Calif., took a significant step toward its announced international expansion plans by signing a distribution agreement with Italian medical distributor Sweden & Martina, S.p.A. BioLase manufactures...

ADM Tronics Unlimited, Inc.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... ADM Tronics Unlimited, Inc., Northvale, N.J., has signed an agreement with GSM, Inc., to market ADM Tronics(tm) SofPulse, a therapeutic, non- invasive electronic medical device to physicians treating patients with acute and/or chronic pain....

Dornier Surgical Products, Inc.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... Dornier Surgical Products, Inc., Atlanta, has reached agreement with Circon Corporation, a subsidiary of Maxxim Medical, Inc., Clearwater, Fla., for the distribution and marketing of the Medilas H, a new Holmlum:YAG urological laser system....

Industry advocacy groups state positions on cost effectiveness, fees, dispute settlement issues.
April 1, 1999... Medical Device Manufacturers Assn.(MDMA) has urged the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to convene a national discussion on the issue of cost effectiveness and its role as a criterion for determining policies for the incorporation...

Diagnostic Health Services, Inc.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... Diagnostic Health Services, Inc., Dallas, and Medical Alliance, Inc., Irving, Texas, have announced an agreement by which Medical Alliance will merge with Diagnostic Health Services. The new entity will be called Medical Alliance, Inc. ...

Perigon Medical Distribution Corp.(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... Perigon Medical Distribution Corp., Laguna Hills, Calif., has announced the acquisition of Highpoint Medical Corp., Grand Prairie, Texas, and Spurgas Medical Products, New Britain, Conn., the most recent step in the company's strategy to...

PSS World Medical, Inc.(set to acquire Gulf South Medical Supply, Inc, )(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... PSS World Medical, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., acting through a wholly owned subsidiary, has concluded a pair of acquisitions of privately held nursing home distributors. PSS' subsidiary Gulf South Medical Supply, Inc. has acquired Dayton,...

Comprehensive Manufacturing Advantage.(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Comprehensive Manufacturing Advantage (CMA) International, Chapel Hill, N.C., will establish a manufacturing plant in West Belfast, Northern Ireland, to produce a range of medical devices for U.S. and European Union-based medical technology...

Smith & Nephew, Inc.(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Smith & Nephew, Inc. Bracing and Support Systems (DonJoy), San Diego, Calif., has been selected as an official medical supplier and exclusive knee brace provider to the U.S. Ski Team. The agreement provides that DonJoy will remain an...

Kensey Nash Corp.(Product Information)
April 1, 1999... Kensey Nash Corp., Exton, Pa., has received CE Mark approval for its new 6F Angio-Seal puncture closing device, allowing sale of the product throughout the European Union. The 6F Angio-Seal will specifically address the largest segment of...

Cyberonics, Inc.(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Cyberonics, Inc., has received FDA approval for its new 21,000 square foot manufacturing facility with laser marking and laser welding capability, located in its headquarters building in Houston. Manufacturing of Cyberonics' proprietary...

Bioject Medical Technologies, Inc.(Merck & Co licensing negotiations cancelled)(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... Bioject Medical Technologies, Inc., Portland, Ore., a manufacturer of jet injection devices for needle-free drug delivery and the developer of a continuous ambulatory blood glucose monitoring system, has announced that Merck & Co. has...

Eclipse Surgical Technologies, Inc.(Government Activity)
April 1, 1999... Eclipse Surgical Technologies, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., has received final clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR) products. Data presented to the FDA panel in October 1998...

Hand surgery society schedules 54th annual event.
April 1, 1999... The American Society for Surgery of the Hand's annual meeting will be held Sept. 2-4 in Boston. Exhibitors are invited to show their wares to the hand, orthopedic, plastic and general surgeons and allied health professionals in attendance at...

Medical marketing program set at UCLA.
April 1, 1999... Medical marketing professionals in the device, diagnostic, pharmaceutical or biotechnology-related health care industries may want to increase their sales and marketing skills by attending the UCLA Medical Marketing Program to be held May 3-7,...

MD&M East to highlight single-use disposables.(Industry Trend or Event)
April 1, 1999... Single-use disposable medical devices will be highlighted during the 17th annual Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East show scheduled for May 25-27 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Driven by the growing...

AAHP conference attracts device exhibitors.
April 1, 1999... The American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) Managed Care Institute and Display Forum will be held June 20-23, 1999 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. More than 3,000 professionals working with HMO, PPO and other...

Trading places ...
April 1, 1999... Here's Health Industry Today's listing of key health care trade shows for the coming months. To add one, contact John Dalton at 303-967-0170, fax 303-290-9025, or e-mail to HIT@businessword.com Dates Meeting Location Exhibitor...

Producer Price Index drops 0.4% in February; Consumer Price Index rises 0.1% from January.
April 1, 1999... Analysis: The Producer Price Index for finished goods declined 0.4% in February, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. This decline followed increases of 0.5% in January and 0.4%...

Purchasing Managers: Manufacturing index breaks string of decliners.
April 1, 1999... Economic activity in the manufacturing sector surged upward in February following eight months of decline. The overall economy continued to grow in February for the 94th consecutive month, according to the National Assn. of Purchasing...

Agfa Corp.
April 1, 1999... Agfa Corp., Ridgefield Park, N.J., has named John Glass managing director of Agfa-Gevaert's Business Group Medical Imaging. He will be in charge of the company's medical imaging business worldwide. Glass is a former senior vice president,...

Health Industry Group Purchasing Association.
April 1, 1999... Health Industry Group Purchasing Association (HIGPA), Washington, D.C., has announced two additions to its board of directors. Gerald Vicenzi will serve as Chair-elect of the Board and Ed Gravell will serve as Treasurer. Vicenzi is vice...

Gliatech, Inc.
April 1, 1999... Gliatech, Inc., Cleveland, has appointed John A. Redmond vice president - general manager medical devices. He will be responsible for Gliatech's commercialization and development of the ADCON(r) family of products. Redmond has 23 years...

Health Industry Manufacturers Assn.
April 1, 1999... Health Industry Manufacturers Assn. (HIMA), headquartered in Washington, D.C., has named Linda Ruckel director of media relations. She will manage inquiries from trade and lay media, coordinate news briefs and press conferences and oversee the...

Acuson Corp.(appoints Acuson Nippon K.K. president)
April 1, 1999... Acuson Corp., Mountain View, Calif., has named Takashi Hayashi president of Acuson Nippon, K.K., the company's subsidiary operation serving the Japanese medical ultrasound marketplace. Hayashi brings more than 20 years of medical...

Health Services Corp.
April 1, 1999... Health Services Corp. of America (HSCA), Cape Girardeau, Mo., has named Dan Mueller to direct its new radiology and cardiovascular services program. The program will expand HSCA's product portfolio and increase member facilities' access...

Alaris Medical, Inc.(Company Operations)(Brief Article)
April 1, 1999... Alaris Medical, Inc., San Diego, has named William C. Bopp vice president and CFO of the maker of intravenous infusion-therapy products, patient-monitoring instruments and related disposables. Bopp was previously executive vice president...