Health Industry Today articles from July 1995

Health Industry Today archives from July 1995

Sluggish growth plagues custom procedure tray market.
July 1, 1995... By practically everyone's appraisal, the U.S. custom procedure tray market is a mature market, one in which the most optimistic observers peg growth rates in the high single digits and the more pessimistic say there is no growth at all, either in...

Two Baxter moves further ruffle an unsteady lab market. (Baxter Healthcare Corp.)
July 1, 1995... Baxter Healthcare Corp. completed two separate deals this spring that could have a major impact on the shape of laboratory and diagnostic products distribution. Insiders say the deals will probably turn out on the positive side for Baxter and are...

Integrated delivery network expansion setting torrid pace.
July 1, 1995... The already breakneck pace of the formation of integrated health care networks increased some more through the first quarter of this year. According to new data collected by Chicago-based SMG Marketing Group, a total of 380 networks were in place...

Kimberly-Clark launches the Ultra in surgical gowns. (Kimberly-Clark Corp.)
July 1, 1995... Improved surgical gowns described as soft, comfortable protective from strike through and cost-effective were introduced this spring by Kimberly-Clark Corp., Roswell, Ga., which is looking to market its new Ultra gown for use in outpatient...

Analogic's new fetal monitor gains quick FDA clearance. (Analogic Corp.; Food and Drug Administration)
July 1, 1995... From its headquarters in Peabody, Mass., Analogic Corp. is challenging industry leaders Hewlett-Packard Co., Andover, Mass., and Corometrics Medical Systems Inc., Wallingford, Conn., for a share of the estimated $74 million fetal monitor market....

New Ethicon suture said to trim per-procedure costs. (Ethicon Inc.)
July 1, 1995... A new synthetic absorbable suture that has the potential for reducing per-procedure cost for providers has been introduced by Ethicon Inc., Somerville, N.J., into a market that the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary already dominates. The new suture...

Mallinckrodt Sensor Systems, Inc. (contract awarded from the US Army for GEM Stat portable blood gas, electrolyte and hematocrit analyzers)
July 1, 1995... Mallinckrodt Sensor Systems, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich., was awarded a contract from the U.S. Army for 178 GEM Stat portable blood gas, electrolyte and hematocrit analyzers. The instruments are for use in the Army's Deployable Medical System...

Fuji Medical Systems USA, Inc. (contract with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee)
July 1, 1995... Fuji Medical Systems USA, Inc., Stamford, Conn., picked up what is said to be the largest single order for computed radiography (CR) equipment ever written in the U.S. this spring when the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.,...

Serviscope Corp. (contract with U.S. Health Corp.)
July 1, 1995... Serviscope Corp., Wallingford, Conn., signed a five-year agreement with U.S. Health Corp., a large Ohio-based integrated health care system, to provide maintenance and capital asset management services to three of the system's member hospitals....

Medline Industries, Inc. (contract with Tenet Healthcare Corp.)
July 1, 1995... Medline Industries, Inc., Mundelein, Ill., won a three-year, sole-source contract with Tenet Healthcare Corp., Santa Monica, Calif., to supply patient utensils, specimen containers, beverage carafes and other plastic items. The agreement includes...

Steris Corp. (contract with Health Services Corp. of America)
July 1, 1995... Steris Corp., Mentor, Ohio, was named a featured vendor by Health Services Corp. of America, Cape Girardeau, Mo., for the group's second period cooperative acquisition program (CAP). This means that Steris products such as its System 1[TM]...

Diametrics' analyzer aims at share of bedside testing market. (Diametrics Medical Inc.)
July 1, 1995... A shift from testing blood chemistry in a hospital's central laboratory to testing at the point of care bodes well for a St. Paul, Minn.-based manufacturer of blood chemistry testing equipment. Diametrics Medical Inc. manufactures and markets...

Aequitron seeks to awaken once-dormant sleep diagnostics market. (Aequitron Medical Inc.)
July 1, 1995... In a move designed to tap into the double-digit growth in the sleep diagnostics market, Plymouth, Minn.-based Aequitron Medical, Inc., acquired the sleep diagnostics business of CNS, Inc., Chanhassen, Minn., in a transaction valued at...

Smith & Nephew, thinking globally, in buying and selling mode. (Smith and Nephew PLC)
July 1, 1995... Smith & Nephew, plc, the London-based health care group, bought one company and sold another in rapid-fire succession this spring. First, the company sold its Smith & Nephew Perry medical gloves business to a competitor, Ansell Inc., Eatontown,...

N.J. holding company acquires microwave unit producer ABB Sanitec. (H.S. Holdings Inc.; ABB Sanitec Inc.)
July 1, 1995... H.S. Holdings, Inc., West Caldwell, N.J., a holding company formed specifically for the purpose of joining the competitive bidding was the winner over three others and will acquire ABB Sanitec, Inc., a manufacturer of microwave disinfection units...

Utah Medical Products begins construction of Irish production plant. (Utah Medical Products Inc.)
July 1, 1995... Utah Medical Products, Inc., Salt Lake City, will build a manufacturing facility in Athlone, Ireland, that is expected to be ready for operation early next year. The company's expansion in Ireland follows more than 50 U.S. medical device firms...

Offshore product sales spur Medaes acquisition of Fairfield Medical. (Medaes Inc.; Fairfield Medical Products Corp.)
July 1, 1995... Medaes Inc., Norcross, Ga., acquired Fairfield Medical Products Corp., Tampa, Fla., a manufacturer and distributor of medical gas rail systems, critical care columns, modular headwalls and patient hygiene products. The company declined to reveal...

Troubled Telectronics buoyed by word of successful implant. (Teletronics Pacing Sytems Inc.)
July 1, 1995... A company that was in need of a dose of good news in recent months got some last month when a 73-year-old Canadian man with a history of heart disease became the first to receive what is being billed as the world's smallest, full-energy,...

Hospital poll: leasing a preferred route to major capital equipment buys.
July 1, 1995... Leasing is on the upswing among hospitals looking for ways to finance major capital equipment purchases, according to a recent survey. The poll, conducted by Heller Financial, Inc., a Chicago-based provider of medical equipment financing, found...

Nellcor stays on fast track with Puritan-Bennett merger. (Nellcor Inc.; Puritan-Bennett Corp.)
July 1, 1995... Nellcor Inc. is following through with the third part of a three-pronged strategy aimed at competing successfully in the devices market through at least the end of the century. The 14-year-old Pleasanton, Calif-based manufacturer of monitoring...

Common carrier database axed.
July 1, 1995... The common carrier database, heralded two years ago as a boon to manufacturers and health care product purchasers alike, has died a peaceful death. As its named implies, CCD could have categorized medical-surgical supplies by type into a common...

Becton Dickinson & Co. (sale of its radioimmunoassay division to ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
July 1, 1995... Becton Dickinson & Co., Franklin Lakes, N.J., sold its radioimmunoassay division to ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., Costa Mesa, Calif. The radioimmunoassay division had approximately $12 million in annual sales and is expected to raise ICN's annual...

Medtronic, Inc. (acquisition of its first supercomputer)
July 1, 1995... Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, announced the acquisition of its first supercomputer this spring when it ordered a Cray J916 for its Center for Biomaterial Research. Terms were not disclosed, but the supercomputer, made by Cray Research, Inc.,...

Coherent, Inc. (approval of its solid-state laser by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare)
July 1, 1995... Coherent, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., became the first company to receive product approval in Japan for use of a solid-state laser to destroy urinary stones. The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare granted approval for Coherent's VersaPulse[R]...

Health Images, Inc. (distribution agreement with Boreas Inc.)
July 1, 1995... Health Images, Inc., Atlanta, signed an exclusive, three-year worldwide distribution agreement with Boreas, Inc., Billerica, Mass., to market and sell the Boreas B100 helium recondenser for MRI systems. The B100 is a new technology that cuts the...

Biomagnetic Technologies Inc. (order for its whole head magnetic source imaging system)
July 1, 1995... Biomagnetic Technologies Inc., San Diego, received an order for a Magnes[R] whole head magnetic source imaging system from New York University. The order increases Biomagnetic Technologies' backlog to $8.8 million. The company officially launched...

Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (establishment of a subsiadiary in Italy)
July 1, 1995... Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Chaska, Minn., began direct sales operations in Italy through a newly formed subsidiary, Lifecore Biomedical S.p.A., based in Verona, Italy. Sales of Lifecore's oral restorative products in that country now represent...

Orthofix International N.V. (distribution contract with Medical Electronics Inc.)
July 1, 1995... Orthofix International N.V., New York, made American Medical Electronics, Inc., Richardson, Texas, its new official U.S. distributor for its line of Orthofix external fixation products. In early May, Orthofix acquired AME, a move that enables...

MedPlus Inc. (partnership with Wallace Computer Services)
July 1, 1995... MedPlus Inc., Cincinnati, and Wallace Computer Services, Inc., Hillside, Ill., have formed a national marketing partnership aimed at allowing MedPlus customers to obtain labels, service and support from either company. The deal makes Wallace...

Devon Industries, Inc. (new manufacturing plant and distribution center in Rock Hill, South Carolina)
July 1, 1995... Devon Industries, Inc., Chatsworth, Calif., has opened a 135,000sf manufacturing plant and distribution center in Rock Hill, S.C., near Charlotte, N.C. The new, automated facility is the company's third. Devon, which currently manufactures more...

Dynatronics Corp. (agreement with a Japanese medical product importer)
July 1, 1995... Dynatronics Corp., Salt Lake City, has signed an agreement with a Japanese medical product importer/distributor to coordinate distribution of its new 50 Series electrotherapy/ultrasound therapy product line throughout Japan. The company, which...

Allied Healthcare Products Inc. (consolidation of its manufacturing facilities)
July 1, 1995... Allied Healthcare Products Inc., St. Louis, has consolidated two manufacturing facilities in the wake of its recent acquisition of Bear Medical Systems, Riverside, Calif. Allied's headwall manufacturing operation in St. Louis will be consolidated...

Invacare Corp. (acquisition of Patient Solutions Inc.)
July 1, 1995... Invacare Corp., Elyria, Ohio, has acquired Patient Solutions Inc., a San Diego-based manufacturer of ambulatory infusion pumps. Patient Solutions manufactures and distributes an ambulatory infusion pump that accommodates four modalities -...

Angeion Corp. (agreement with C. Nicolai GmbH and Co.)
July 1, 1995... Angeion Corp., Minneapolis, signed an exclusive agreement with the German distributor C. Nicolai GmbH & Co. KG covering German distribution of Angeion's Sentinel[TM] implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Angeion says this is the first of...

Imex Medical Systems Inc. (agreement with Oxford Instruments)
July 1, 1995... Imex Medical Systems Inc., Golden, Colo., has signed an agreement with Oxford Instruments of the United Kingdom to distribute a custom designed antepartum monitor in the U.S. and certain other nations. Imex's new and existing distribution...

Igen, Inc. (new manufacturing and office facility in Montgomery County, Maryland)
July 1, 1995... Igen, Inc., Gaithersburg, Md., marked the opening of an expanded and relocated 84,000sf laboratory, manufacturing and office facility with a ceremony attended by Montgomery County executives. The fledgling company, which manufactures diagnostic...

The Healthcare EDI Corp. (change in company's name)
July 1, 1995... The Healthcare EDI Corp. (HEDIC) has changed its name in an effort to better reflect its constituency and role in health care EDI. The new name is the Healthcare EDI Coalition (still HEDIC). By either name, the group remains based in Little Rock,...

The Health Industry Distributors Assn. (change in location of national headquarters)
July 1, 1995... The Health Industry Distributors Assn. (HIDA) and the HIDA Educational Foundation have moved their national headquarters. The new address is 66 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 520, Alexandria, VA 22314-1538. The HIDA phone (703-549-4432), the HIDA...

IMS America. (acquisition of minority interest in DataEdge Inc.)
July 1, 1995... IMS America, Totawa, N.J., has acquired a minority interest in DataEdge Inc., Fort Washington, Pa., and Walton-on-Thames, England, an operator of proprietary databases that provide research and development information to pharmaceutical...

United States Surgical Corp. (award from Photonics Spectra magazine)
July 1, 1995... United States Surgical Corp., Norwalk, Conn., was honored by Photonics Spectra magazine with the eighth Photonics Circle of Excellence award for its Surgiview single-use laparoscope. Among the other 25 winners in the medical field are Coherent,...

DePuy Inc. (ISO 9001 certification)
July 1, 1995... DePuy Inc., Warsaw, Ind., became one of the first orthopedic companies in the world to be certified both domestically and internationally by the International Organization for Standardization when it received ISO 9001 certification. The...

Siemens Medical Systems, Inc. (agreement with Computer Technology and Imaging Inc.)
July 1, 1995... Siemens Medical Systems, Inc., Iselin, N.J., and its nuclear medicine group have signed an agreement with Computer Technology and Imaging, Inc., Knoxville, Tenn., that gives CTI sole responsibility for worldwide sales and distribution of Siemens'...

OEC Medical Systems, Inc. (acquisition of Baarwig Medizinische Systeme GmbH)
July 1, 1995... OEC Medical System, Inc., Salt Lake City, will acquire 19.8% of Barwig Medizinische Systeme GmbH (BMS), a medical imaging manufacturer based in Wendelstein, Germany, that produces a compact mobile C-arm. As part of the deal, OEC gains worldwide...

C.R. Bard Inc. (planned acquisition of MedChem Products Inc.)
July 1, 1995... C.R. Bard Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., says it will acquire MedChem Products Inc., Woburn, Mass., in a stock purchase valued at approximately $100 million. MedChem, which has struggled in recent years, is a manufacturer of catheters and other...

Merger-mania carries huge sales and marketing implications for large and small firms.
July 1, 1995... While 1995 merger and acquisition activity in the medical device industry may not equal last year's remarkable $5 billion in transactions, it is clear that 1994 was certainly no aberration. The last six months have been witness to a hefty number...

Teleradiology concerns merge. (Cemax Inc.-Icon Medical Systems Inc. merger)
July 1, 1995... Just three months after the transaction was announced, the merger of two teleradiology companies has been approved. Cemax, Inc., Fremont, Calif., an OEM picture communication archiving systems (PACS) developer, and Icon Medical Systems, Inc.,...

Owens & Minor, 13 others gain lucrative VA distribution awards. (Owens and Minor Inc.; Veterans Administration)
July 1, 1995... The Veterans Administration, following through with the next step in establishing a prime vendor distribution system to replace the old VA Supply Depot program, has made contract awards to 14 large and small medical-surgical supply distributors...

Pfizer's new national distribution center to handle $100 million a week. (Pfizer Inc.)
July 1, 1995... A modern, $20 million, national distribution center just opened by New York-based Pfizer Inc. in Memphis, Tenn. is expected to increase delivery speed and efficiency for a range of Pfizer health care products, including orthopedic devices and...

Survey pinpoints $4.1 billion in alternate site distributor sales.
July 1, 1995... An 11-company sampling of major distributors between October 1993 and September 1994 accounted for $4.1 billion in sales to physicians offices and alternate site facilities. Some $2.3 billion, or 55.8% of the total sales, went to the physicians...

N.J. distributors announce merger. (Best Care Medical's acquisition of FMS Scientific/Medical Inc.)
July 1, 1995... Best Care Medical, Clifton, N.J., acquired FMS Scientific/Medical Inc., New Milford, N.J., a 17-year-old distributor of scientific and laboratory supplies and equipment. FMS customers include hospitals and reference labs, educational and...

HCFA ruling should aid N.Y. distributor. (Health Care Financing Administration; Prime Care Medicaal Supplies Inc.)
July 1, 1995... Prime Care Medical Supplies Inc., Flushing, N.Y., a medical products distributor, and Lumex, a Bayshore, N.Y.-based equipment manufacturer, along with other master distributors nationwide, have succeeded in persuading the Health Care Financing...

Becton Dickinson and Co. (appointment of new Supply Chain Services unit president)
July 1, 1995... Becton Dickinson & Co.: Nicholas J. LaHowchic was named president of the Supply Chain Services unit of this Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based medical-surgical supplies manufacturer, where he is responsible for that division's North American business...

IVAC Corp. (appointment of new president and CEO)
July 1, 1995... IVAC Corp.: William J. Mercer was named president and CEO of this San Diego-based medical device manufacturer. Prior to joining IVAC, Mercer served as senior vice president of Mallinckrodt Group, Inc., St. Louis. He and Gregory Sancoff have...

Picker International. (appointment of new president)
July 1, 1995... Bruce Edward Ross was named president of Picker International Canada, a Toronto-based company that sells MRI, CT, nuclear medicine and X-ray equipment. Most recently, Ross served as vice president of sales and marketing for Nicolet Biomedical,...

Orthopedic Technology Inc. (appointment of new president and CEO)
July 1, 1995... Calvin G. Andre, president and CEO of this Tracy, Calif.-based manufacturer of orthopedic products for the sports medicine market, was elected to the added post of chairman. He succeeds Alex G. Daneman, who resigned to pursue other interests.

Serviscope Corp. (appointment of new president)
July 1, 1995... Serviscope Corp.: Robert McGee was named president of this Wallingford, Conn.-based provider of asset management and cost-containment solutions to diagnostic imaging equipment users.