Health Industry Today articles from November 1996

Health Industry Today archives from November 1996

Contrast media market shaken by huge GPO contracts. (group purchasing organizations)
November 1, 1996... With the stroke of a pen, a large group purchasing organization made a significant and quite possibly lasting impact on the fortunes of producers of contrast media. Simply put, when Premier Inc. signed a contract for diagnostic imaging agents...

Small but growing shift to reusable laparoscopic devices builds momentum.
November 1, 1996... Since the blossoming popularity of laparoscopic surgical procedures in the late 1980s, the two leading producers of laparoscopic instruments have been extolling the virtues and cost-saving advantages of their disposable devices. The manufacturers...

NJHA challenges suggestion of group's demise. (New Jersey Hospital Association)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 1996... To the Editor, I have concerns about the story that appeared in Health Industry Today ("Hoping to avert demise, NJHA group purchasing allies with VHA subsidiary," September 1996, p. 3) about the New Jersey Hospital Assn. alliance with...

Medline resting easy after disposable pillow contract award from VHA. (Medline Industries)
November 1, 1996... The door has finally opened for Medline Industries to market at least a small part of its product line to members of Irving, Texas-based VHA Inc. Beginning last month, Mundelein, Ill.-based Medline began producing disposable pillows as part of...

Regional GPO AllHealth in purchasing pact with VHA subsidiary. (group purchasing organization; HealthCare Purchasing Partners Inc.)
November 1, 1996... Following the recent lead of the New Jersey Hospital Assn. (NJHA), AllHealth, a Harrisburg, Pa.-based shared services alliance that serves approximately 700 providers in the Middle Atlantic region, has signed an affiliation agreement with...

Premier's food and forms: mega-awards to Uarco, Standard Register, Alliant.
November 1, 1996... On the heels of reports that Premier Inc. has been making its lucrative contract awards almost exclusively to market share leaders, the influential supergroup made an award to a number three player. Last month, it was the forms segment that shook...

U.S. manufacturers selling products at big premium in Japan.
November 1, 1996... A dollar to dollar price comparison between identical medical products and equipment sold in the U.S. and Japan show that in some cases, U.S. vendors are getting a fraction of the prices paid in this country for the same products sold in Japan....

Optimism at Owens: improved 3Q96 report and long-term care contract. (Owens and Minor)
November 1, 1996... The sky may have begun to brighten for Owens & Minor. The beleaguered Richmond, Va.-based medical-surgical supply distributor reported what it called "moderate" sales growth in its third quarter results, improvement that it credited to several...

Richard-Allan is bent on success of new endoscopic cutter. (Richard-Allan Medical Industries)
November 1, 1996... Cost savings matched by an enhanced procedure-enabling technology is at the center of Richard-Allan Medical's newly introduced articulated endoscopic cutter. In a highly competitive market dominated by two laparoscopic superpowers, the Richland,...

Affordability heats up marketing effort for Vidamed's low-cost TUNA system.
November 1, 1996... With a hard-earned FDA clearance in place, Vidamed Inc. has put a marketing campaign to work to sell the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company's first and to date only product, the Transurethral Needle Ablation System, also known as TUNA[R]. The TUNA...

Some disagree, but U.S. Surgical still sees a jewel in Circon.
November 1, 1996... It seems inevitable that Circon Corp. will bow to the highest bidder now that mighty United States Surgical Corp. has fired the first salvo in a hostile takeover attempt of the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based manufacturer. Less clear is the...

Selling a medical products manufacturing company.
November 1, 1996... When the time has come to consider selling a company, a variety of actions must be taken to properly prepare the company. Selling a company is a very difficult task. Careful preparation is critical both for maximizing the value of the company and...

GPOs demanding, getting deep discounts for contrast agents. (group purchase organizations)
November 1, 1996... There are three basic words to describe what group purchasers look for when negotiating contracts for diagnostic imaging agents: price, price, price. Health Industry Today asked contracting executives at large group purchasing organizations for...

Lap suppliers in abundance at ACS. (laparoscopic surgery; American College of Surgeons)
November 1, 1996... Without a doubt, the towering, unmistakable presence of segment leaders Ethicon Endo-Surgery and United States Surgical Corp. at the American College of Surgeons show was compelling testimony to the huge impact of laparoscopic surgery on medicine...

Despite big pact with Allegiance, General Medical's future still uncertain. (Allegiance Healthcare Corp.)
November 1, 1996... A five-year agreement signed by General Medical Corp. with newly spun off Allegiance Healthcare Corp. will bring as much as $100 million in sales to the two companies, but where the future lies for Richmond, Va.-based G.M. is still open to...

Distributors on edge as VHA ponders fate of ADA program. (authorized distribution agent)
November 1, 1996... Distributors who serve hospitals and other facilities that belong to VHA Inc. are nervously awaiting a decision by the Irving, Texas-based group on the future of VHA's authorized distribution agent program. The current agreement expires Dec. 31,...

HIDA elects 1996-97 board and market group directors. (Health Industry Distributors Association)
November 1, 1996... At its 1996 annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in September, the Health Industry Distributors Assn. (HIDA) elected Jeremy M. Jones, chairman and CEO of Apria Healthcare Corp., the group's 199697 chairman of the board. John F. Sasen,...

Stockless distribution signings taper off in third quarter.
November 1, 1996... The pace of stockless distribution program signings slowed to a near-crawl during this year's third quarter when just nine new stockless contracts were added by medical-surgical supply distributors. It marked the slowest period since 2Q95, when...

Baxter Healthcare Corp. (wins case)
November 1, 1996... Baxter Healthcare Corp. Deerfield, Ill., won a verdict from a Dallas jury Sept. 19 in a silicone breast implant case. The trial was one of four consolidated breast implant cases. To date, Baxter has won defense verdicts in 20 breast implant...

Sofamor Danek Group. (acquisitions)
November 1, 1996... Sofamor Danek Group, Memphis, Tenn., has acquired two privately held manufacturers of orthopedic specialty components. The company bought Las Vegas-based TiMesh Inc., a company that produces titanium alloy screws and has expertise with other...

3M. (acquisitions)
November 1, 1996... 3M, St. Paul, Minn., will acquire PyMaH, Flemington, N.J., a company that develops and markets sterilization monitoring, vital signs and industrial monitoring products. Aside from assuming operations for PyMaH's New Jersey facility, 3M will...

St. Jude Medical Inc. (acquisitions)
November 1, 1996... St. Jude Medical Inc., St. Paul, Minn., has acquired Biocor[R] Industria E Pesquisas Ltd., Belo Horizonte, Brazil, a manufacturer of tissue valves. Biocor's products, which had been sold throughout Europe and Latin America, consist of stented and...

TECNOL Medical Products Inc. (acquisitions)
November 1, 1996... TECNOL Medical Products, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, acquired the Safety Shield[R] face mask line from Ballard Medical Products, Draper, Utah, for approximately $1 million in cash. Net sales of the Safety Shield product line, a specialty mask that...

Ohmeda Specialty Products Division. (contract)
November 1, 1996... Ohmeda Specialty Products Division, Liberty Corner, N.J., and Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif., have agreed on the terms of a cooperative perinatal agreement. Under terms of the deal, the two companies will provide customers with thermal...

Somanetics Corp. (contract)
November 1, 1996... Somanetics Corp., Troy, Mich., reached agreement with Medlink Europe that is designed to help it reach the European market for the recently cleared INVOS[R] Cerebral Oximeter. Based in Amsterdam, Medlink Europe assists U.S.-based companies...

United States Surgical Corp. (contract)
November 1, 1996... United States Surgical Corp., Norwalk, Conn., signed an exclusive agreement with Neoprobe Corp., Dublin, Ohio, for the exclusive worldwide sales and distribution rights (except in Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore) for Neoprobe's RIGS[TM]...

Spectral Diagnostics Inc. (contract)
November 1, 1996... Spectral Diagnostics Inc., Toronto, Ont., has exercised its right to terminate its distribution agreement with Miami-based Dade International Inc. The development marks the beginning of Spectral Diagnostics' direct program of sales and marketing...

Quinton Instrument Co. (contract)
November 1, 1996... Quinton Instrument Co., Bothell, Wash., signed an agreement with Hewlett-Packard Co., Andover, Mass., that makes Quinton H-P's "only recommended supplier" for cardiac catheterization monitoring and recording equipment. The agreement revolves...

Distinguished service.
November 1, 1996... Kudos to Ruth Johansen, group manager of convention services for Baxter Healthcare Corp. I.V. Systems Division, Round Lake, Ill. Johansen, a 20-year veteran, was honored recently with the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Assn.'s (HCEA)...

P.R.P.R. (Puerto Rico Healthcare Show and Educational Forum)
November 1, 1996... Amid the lush setting of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Healthcare Show and Educational Forum is scheduled for March 13-14. Exhibitors from pharmacy, medical-surgical supplies, laboratory, durable medical equipment and wound care...

Relationship building.
November 1, 1996... HIDA will hold the next in its series of Manufacturers Seminars, Jan. 9-10 in Orlando, Fla., this one titled "How to build powerful relationships with your distributors." As always, an all-star panel of industry experts has been assembled,...

Purchasing managers: growth rate slows in September's manufacturing segment.
November 1, 1996... Economic activity in the nation's manufacturing sector eased off a bit in September, compared with its August showing, according to the most recent report from the National Assn. of Purchasing Management. Meanwhile, the overall economy continued...

Orthofix International. (appointments)
November 1, 1996... Charles W. Federico was named senior vice president of Orthofix International N.V. and president of its Richardson, Texas-based Orthofix Inc. U.S. subsidiary. In addition, he has been elected to the boards of directors of Orthofix International...

Ohmeda: (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Three executives were named by this Liberty Corner, N.J.-based manufacturer to its newly created corporate account management division, which is responsible for all aspects of corporate contracting of anesthesia and critical care products as well...

Purchase connection. (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Frank Bonvino was named director of the capital equipment program for this Los Angeles-based group purchasing organization. He joins the group from his previous post at MDT/Castle, Torrance, Calif.

Picker International. (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Richard Silver has been promoted to marketing manager for the Cleveland-based manufacturer's global X-ray business. He joins the division from Toronto-based Picker International Canada, where he held several sales and marketing positions.

Precision Dynamics Corp. (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Walter W. Mosher, president of this San Fernando, Calif.-based medical device manufacturer, was named the new chairman of the board of the Health Industry Business Communications Council.

SurVivaLink Corp. (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Mark T. Wagner was named to the newly created position of president and COO of this Minneapolis-based manufacturer of automated external defibrillators. He joins SurVivaLink from Nellcor Puritan Bennett, Pleasanton, Calif., where he most recently...

Agfa. (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Andrew Curran was named northeastern regional director of technical imaging sales for this Ridgefield Park, N.J.-based imaging product manufacturer. Curran, a registered radiology technologist, joined the company in 1979. In his new position, he...

Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Assn. (HCEA). (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Pat Varrieur of Bard Vascular Systems Division, Haverhill., Mass., was elected president of this Atlanta-based health care convention group. Other officers for 1996-97 are president-elect Geri-Dee Shaffer, Aesculap Inc., South San Francisco,...

Cardinal Health Inc. (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... James F. Millar was named president of this Dublin, Ohio-based distributor's drug wholesaling operations. Millar has worked for nine years at Cardinal Health serving in a number of increasingly responsible management capacities. In January, he...

Varian Oncology Systems. (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Dave Hall was named product manager for VariSource[TM], a computer-controlled brachytherapy cancer treatment system produced by this Palo Alto, Calif.-based manufacturer of medical accelerators. He will oversee both marketing and technical...

Owen Healthcare Inc. (executive appointments)
November 1, 1996... Herbert W. Stokes was promoted to fill the newly created position of senior vice president, integrated services, of this Houston-based hospital pharmacy management company. Stokes, a pharmacist, began his career with Owen in 1972 and has held a...