Health Industry Today articles from October 1997

Health Industry Today archives from October 1997

Custom tray market bears mark of consolidation, declining prices. (medical device)
October 1, 1997... Possibly more so than any other segment of the medical products industry, the custom procedure tray market is a lesson in the effects of managed care and declining prices on manufacturers. In their efforts to raise cost-consciousness, managed...

Could VHA-UHC combo lead to more opportunity, but even lower prices? (VHA Inc.; University HealthSystem Consortium)
October 1, 1997... A potentially lucrative window of opportunity for the vendor community could open early next year thanks to the latest in the never-ending series of mergers among group purchasing organizations. In this most recent development, which could also...

After Bergen merger, will Cardinal cross-sell drugs and med-surg supplies? (Bergen Brunswig Corp.; Cardinal Health Inc.)
October 1, 1997... More questions than answers are readily available about some key issues that will affect the medical device and supply community in the weeks following the Aug. 24 announcement of the multi-billion dollar merger between Cardinal Health Inc. and...

Graham-Field's acquisition of Fuqua resembles many hospital-based mergers. (Graham-Field Health Products Inc.; Fuqua Enterprises Inc.)
October 1, 1997... The $166 million stock acquisition of Atlanta-based Fuqua Enterprises Inc. by Graham-Field Health Products Inc., Hauppauge, N.Y., is further strong indication of consolidation among suppliers of products in the fast-growing, but fragmented home...

McKesson forms corporate sales unit to sell combined product offering. (McKesson Corp.)
October 1, 1997... Stepping up its efforts to compete for business in an unusually fast-consolidating community of customers and parlaying recent acquisitions on the medical-surgical supply side of distribution, McKesson Corp. has reorganized its corporate sales...

J&J acquires McFaul & Lyons. (Johnson and Johnson Health Care Systems Inc; McFaul and Lyons Inc.)
October 1, 1997... Proving that not every rumor in the health care industry turns out to be untrue, McFaul & Lyons Inc., the Trenton, N.J.-based hospital consulting group that had been the subject of sale speculation for months, has indeed been sold. In a deal...

Nellcor Puritan Bennett releases newest sleep monitor for infants.
October 1, 1997... Nellcor Puritan Bennett Inc. expects to boost its position in the sleep apnea market and extend it to the tiniest of patients with this summer's release of the Ami[TM] infant apnea monitor. Minneapolis-based Nellcor Puritan Bennett gained FDA...

Augustine wrapping up warming blanket market with new cardiac blanket. (Augustine Medical Inc.)
October 1, 1997... Augustine Medical Inc. has developed a product designed to reduce temperature drops in patients during cardiac surgery, and the new product complements its existing lines of forced air warming blankets. Temperature drops as small as 1.5 degrees...

Augustine gains verdict over Gaymar, Mallinckrodt in patent dispute. (Augustine Medical Inc.; Gaymar Industries Inc.; Mallinckrodt Medical Inc.)
October 1, 1997... A federal court jury ruled Sept. 3 that St. Louis-based Mallinckrodt Medical Inc. and Gaymar Industries Inc., Orchard Park, N.Y., infringed three patents covering the Bair Hugger[R] brand convective warming blankets manufactured by Augustine...

Chiron Diagnostics launches breast cancer marker to labs and oncologists.
October 1, 1997... Chiron Diagnostics is convinced that its newest blood test for breast cancer antigen CA 27.29, will open up a relatively small U.S. market that is ripe with possibility. Emeryville, Calif.-based Chiron Diagnostics, a unit of Chiron Corp., East...

NeuroControl device lends a hand to paralyzed consumers.
October 1, 1997... Hand surgeons and occupational therapists will be the key buying decision-makers, but NeuroControl Corp. hopes to also build demand for its new product through an appeal to a significant patient population for its new product, the Freehand...

Huge national agreements still crucial for med-surg distributors. (medical and surgical equipment)
October 1, 1997... Even before VHA Inc. began announcing the new lineup of its authorized distribution agent, or ADA, program for medical-surgical supplies, many in the industry were questioning the wisdom of signing such large national agreements. Med-surg...

Six strategic disrupters that have changed the distribution business. (medical and surgical supplies)
October 1, 1997... In any business, there are winners and losers. In med-surg distribution, there is opportunity in chaos, and Bill McCleave says "someone will win with any of these disruptions." McCleave, who is president of McCleave & Associates., a Charlotte,...

Acquisition valuations of medical device companies vary widely.
October 1, 1997... Determining an appropriate purchase price for a company is one of the most difficult aspects of doing acquisitions, and there are few good valuation guidelines. Sometimes, valuation is simply whatever it takes to get the job done. Some recent...

Executive-level marketing can pay big dividends for an upstart firm. (medical equipment industry)
October 1, 1997... The forces of consolidation within the medical device and diagnostics industry are so strong that it sometimes appears everything and everybody is moving in the same direction - toward bigger companies, bigger budgets and bigger market shares....

Market research pays off with strong sales ... at a higher price. (Biosite Diagnostics Inc.)
October 1, 1997... A fledgling diagnostic test manufacturer was convinced it had a terrific new product. But faced with formidable obstacles in the presence of large, deeply entrenched competitors and resistance from a conservative cadre of clinician end-users, the...

Siemens Communication Systems. (contract)
October 1, 1997... Siemens Communication Systems, Santa Clara, Calif., signed a three-year, $6 million contract with VHA Inc., Irving, Texas, under which Siemens will provide a range of telecommunications and networking solutions to participating VHA members.

Sparta Surgical Corp. (contract)
October 1, 1997... Sparta Surgical Corp., Pleasanton, Calif., received a $375,000 purchase order from Henley HealthCare Inc., Sugar Land, Texas, for Sparta's Spectrum Max-SD transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators.

United States Surgical Corp. (contract)
October 1, 1997... United States Surgical Corp., Norwalk, Conn., signed a five-year, sole-source contract with Community Health Systems Inc., Brentwood, Tenn., that covers surgical staplers, laparoscopic instruments, sutures and infusion port products. The...

Zellerbach. (distribution contract)
October 1, 1997... Zellerbach, Dayton, Ohio, signed a five-year distribution agreement with Irving, Texas-based VHA Inc. that makes Zellerbach a distributor of housekeeping and environmental products and services for participating VHA members. VHA facilities...

SurVivaLink Corp. (contracts)
October 1, 1997... SurVivaLink Corp., Minneapolis, has picked up eight contracts resulting on orders for more than 500 of its automated external defibrillators. The agreements are with the Los Angeles County Fire Dept.; Ford Motor Co., Detroit; MGM Grand Hotel and...

Hewlett-Packard Co. (contract)
October 1, 1997... Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif., signed a contract with the U.S. Defense Personnel Support Center's medical equipment group and biomedical systems office for patient monitoring and clinical information systems. The contract will be in...

Varian Associates Inc. (contract)
October 1, 1997... Varian Associates Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., reached agreement with Premier Inc. on an agreement that provides special pricing for radiotherapy systems and related products and services to Premier owners and affiliates through April 30, 2000. The...

Richardson Electronics Ltd. (contract)
October 1, 1997... Richardson Electronics Ltd., LaFox, Ill., signed a two-year contract (plus two, one-year extensions) with Atlanta-based Shared Services Healthcare and a two-year contract (plus three, one-year options) with the University HealthSystem Consortium,...

Briggs Corp. (contract)
October 1, 1997... Briggs Corp., Des Moines, Iowa, signed an agreement with Horizon/CMS Healthcare Corp., Albuquerque, N.M., to provide over 120 skilled nursing facilities operated by Horizon/CMS across the country with electronic access to Briggs' extensive...

WasteWorks. (contract)
October 1, 1997... WasteWorks, Ghent, N.Y., signed a three-year agreement with MAGNET, the Mid-Atlantic Group Network of Shared Services Inc., Mechanicsburg, Pa., to provide waste management consulting services to participating hospitals.

Coulter Corp. (contract)
October 1, 1997... Coulter Corp., Miami, and Sysmex Corp. of America, Long Grove, Ill., signed three-year agreements with Premier Inc. for hematology analyzers, reagents and consumables. The contracts took effect Aug. 1. Sysmex is a subsidiary of TOA Medical...

S.C. Johnson Professional. (dual source contract)
October 1, 1997... S.C. Johnson Professional, Racine, Wis., and 3M, St. Paul, Minn., will share a dual source agreement with Premier Inc. that covers housekeeping chemicals. The contracts, each of which has a five-year term, took effect Sept. 1.

Dade International. (dual source agreement)
October 1, 1997... Dade International, Deerfield, Ill., and Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N.J., each signed a share of a dual source agreement with Premier Inc. in a deal that covers coagulation reagents, controls and disposables. The Dade portion of the...

3M. (dual source agreement)
October 1, 1997... 3M, St. Paul, Minn., signed a dual-source agreement with Premier Inc. for its commercial care division that covers housekeeping products.

GE Medical Systems. (contract)
October 1, 1997... GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, signed an agreement that gives EG&G Inc., Wellesley, Mass., exclusive rights to produce GE Medical's new multi-purpose digital X-ray detector. The new system is designed to replace conventional X-ray film and...

STERIS Corp. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... STERIS Corp., Mentor, Ohio, has sold its management services division to Milwaukee-based General Electric Medical Systems in a deal for undisclosed terms. The management services division, which was acquired by STERIS in May 1996 through its...

Cardiovascular Diagnostics Inc. (distribution agreement)
October 1, 1997... Cardiovascular Diagnostics Inc., Raleigh, N.C., signed a distribution agreement with Ortho Clinical Diagnostics S.p.A., a Johnson & Johnson company based in Milan, Italy, involving CDI's Thrombolytic Assessment System[TM] analyzer used in...

Imation Corp. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... Imation Corp., Minneapolis, says it completed its acquisition of Cemax-Icon Inc., Fremont, Calif., in a move that makes Cemax-Icon a wholly owned subsidiary of Imation. The close was announced Aug. 18 at the American Healthcare Radiology...

Hewlett-Packard Medical Products Group. (defibrillator donation)
October 1, 1997... Hewlett-Packard Medical Products Group, Andover, Mass., donated 20 HP CodeMaster defibrillators to the Indianapolis Speedway for the 1997 Brickyard 400 race held Aug. 2-3. The CodeMaster, along with HP PageWriter cardiograph equipment, will also...

Image Guided Technologies Inc. (sales agreement)
October 1, 1997... Image Guided Technologies Inc., Boulder, Colo., signed a one-year OEM product sales agreement with Cincinnati-based Ohio Medical Instrument Co., Inc. The deal includes the FlashPoint 5000[R] optical localizer, a component in the guidance system...

E-Z-EM Inc. (investment)
October 1, 1997... E-Z-EM Inc., Westbury, N.Y., has acquired a "significant minority share" of ITI Medical Technologies Inc., a spin-off company from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Livermore, Calif. The investment, which makes E-Z-EM the largest...

The American College of Physicians. (merger with American Society of Internal Medicine)
October 1, 1997... The American College of Physicians and the American Society of Internal Medicine have agreed in principle on the terms of a merger of the two organizations that would be complete in the latter half of 1998. If approved by the groups' governing...

Alliant Foodservice Inc. (Tampa, Florida facility)
October 1, 1997... Douglas Cassidy was promoted to the newly created position of chief operating officer for this Deerfield, Ill.-based foodservice distributor. Cassidy, who had been the company's president of national group sales, spent 20 years with Baxter...

Physician Sales & Service Inc. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... Physician Sales & Service Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., and its Diagnostic Imaging Inc. subsidiary have acquired S&W X-Ray Inc., Rochester, N.Y., a distributor of radiology and imaging equipment and supplies with five locations in four states. S&W...

AMEDISYS Inc. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... AMEDISYS Inc., Baton Rouge, La., has acquired Allgood Medical Services Inc., a Louisiana-based company doing business as Care Medical & Mobility Equipment Co., a provider of durable medical equipment to home health care, clinics and HMOs in...

Innovative Medical Services. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... Innovative Medical Services, San Diego, says it will acquire Xetal Inc., Oceanside, N.Y., a supply distributor doing business as APO Health and Universal Medical Distributors Inc. APO Health focuses on distribution of protective clothing as well...

Eastman Kodak Co. (contract)
October 1, 1997... Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., signed agreements that make three companies preferred Kodak suppliers under Kodak's Procedure Cost Management Alliance Program. The three are E-Z-EM Inc., Westbury, N.Y., Medrad Inc., Indianola, Pa., and...

McKesson General Medical Corp. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... McKesson General Medical Corp., Richmond, Va., has acquired Parks Inc., Nashville, Tenn., a distributor to the physicians' office market. Parks serves customers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama. Haworth Parks, Jr., a vice president of...

STERIS Corp. (sold management services division)
October 1, 1997... STERIS Corp., Mentor, Ohio, signed a $142 million agreement to acquire Isomedix Inc., a 25-year-old provider of contract sterilization and microbial reduction services for manufacturers and producers of medical and non-medical products. Isomedix...

ThermoLase Corp. (marketing contract)
October 1, 1997... ThermoLase Corp., San Diego, has signed a marketing agreement with Continuum Biomedical, a Livermore, Calif.based manufacturer of Nd:Yag lasers with an installed base of 600 lasers worldwide. The contract allows customers who buy Continuum's new...

Universal Medical Systems Inc. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... Universal Medical Systems Inc., Clearwater, Fla., has acquired Imaging Products International Inc., Chantilly, Va., and SAMBA, a division of Unilog based in Paris, France. Both Imaging Products International and SAMBA are involved in the...

Vista Medical Distribution Corp. (acquisitions)
October 1, 1997... Vista Medical Distribution Corp., Laguna Hills, Calif., says it has completed acquisitions of two medical suppliers. The two are Wyoming Medical Supply, Casper, Wyo., and Brunswick Surgical Supply Co., New Brunswick, N.J. Wyoming Medical...

Integrated Surgical Systems Inc. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... Integrated Surgical Systems Inc., Sacramento, Calif., signed an agreement to acquire Innovative Medical Machines International S.A., Lyon, France in a stock swap. The deal brings together Integrated Surgical Systems' line of computer-controlled,...

Graham-Field Health Products Inc. (acquisition)
October 1, 1997... Graham-Field Health Products Inc., Hauppauge, N.Y., has acquired Atlanta-based Medical Supplies of America Inc., for $12.9 million. Medical Supplies of America, also known as Medapex, is a distributor of home health care products, including a...

CompuMed Inc. (product introduction)
October 1, 1997... CompuMed Inc., Manhattan Beach, Calif., unveiled a prototype of its new third generation system for osteoporosis and arthritis detection last month at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Cincinnati....

PPI's finished goods index rises 0.3% in August; Medical Care Commodities index dips 0.2%. (Producer Price Index)
October 1, 1997... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] Analysis: After slipping the month before, the unadjusted finished goods component of the Producer Price Index rose 0.3% to 131.7 in August. This index, which measures pricing at the manufacturer level, now stands...

Purchasing managers: August manufacturing sector growth rate slows.
October 1, 1997... After perking up in July, economic activity in the nation's manufacturing sector slowed its rate of growth in August, according to the most recent report from the National Assn. of Purchasing Management. In August, the overall economy continued...

Alliant Foodservice Inc. (executive appointment)
October 1, 1997... Alliant Foodservice Inc., Deerfield, Ill., says it will invest more than $8 million for a 100,000sf expansion of its distribution center in Tampa, Fla., a move that will nearly double the size of Alliant's existing facility. Groundbreaking was...

Imex Medical Systems Inc. (resignation of Pres., CFO and COO Ernie Malachowski)
October 1, 1997... Ernie Malachowski resigned as president, CFO and COO of this Golden, Colo.-based cardiac product manufacturer to take a chief executive post with a Colorado law firm. Chairman and CEO Dennis Newman assumed Malachowski's president position with...