Health Industry Today articles from September 1993

Health Industry Today archives from September 1993

Fierce marketing taking financial toll on Ethicon Endo-Surgery and USSC. (United States Surgical Corp.) (Market Memo)
September 1, 1993... Although the companies are neck-and-neck in the race to develop less invasive surgery (LIS) products, Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Endo-Surgery division may be a full furlong ahead in the marketing race against U.S. Surgical Corp. (USSC),...

General Medical sold, poised to expand following purchase by employees and firm. (General Medical Corp.; Kelso & Co.) (Market Memo)
September 1, 1993... General Medical Corp., the nation's fourth largest medical-surgical distributor, is poised to acquire other manufacturers and expand geographically following the buyout of General Medical itself last month for $300 million-plus by a financial...

Howmedica, Zimmer sign dual-source orthopedic deal with Daughters of Charity. (Howmedica Inc.; Zimmer Inc.; Daughters of Charity National Health System)
September 1, 1993... Howmedia, Inc., Rutherford, N.J., and Zimmer, Inc., Warsaw, Ind., signed agreements worth a combined $34 million with St. Louis-based Daughters of Charity National Health System (DCNHS), including Houston-based Sisters of Charity National...

VA attacks Baxter's credibility, proposes ban. (Department of Veteran Affairs; Baxter International Inc. of Deerfield, Illinois)
September 1, 1993... Baxter International Inc., Deerfield, Ill., once again has its public relations staff scrambling to salvage the company's reputation following another credibility-crushing blow. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) alleges that Baxter...

Organon Teknika boosting sales through new promotion. (Organon Teknika Corp. )
September 1, 1993... Organon Teknika Corp., Durham, N.C., a maker of blood bank products, signed an agreement with St. Louis-based AmeriNet, Inc. to carry out a special promotion that Organon officials believe will boost sales $50,000 the first year and $100,000...

Luther expects sales to increase after injunction against Becton Dickinson. (Luther Medical Products Inc.; Becton Dickinson and Co.) (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... Luther Medical Products, Inc., Tustin, Calif., expects sales of its Protectiv[TM] "stickless" catheter to increase as a result of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware granting a preliminary injunction against Becton Dickinson &...

Study will have little effect on Heart Technology's sales. (Heart Technology Inc.) (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... Two recent studies suggesting that directional coronary atherectomy is no better than traditional angioplasty are likely to have little, if any, effect on the sales or marketing strategies of two companies heavily involved in the manufacture of...

Surgimedics and Diomed form Diomedics joint venture. (Surgimedics Inc.; Diomed Ltd.) (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... Surgimedics, Inc., Woodlands, Tex., established a joint venture company named Diomedics with Diomed, Ltd., Cambridge, England, to market and distribute Diomed's new Diomed 25 surgical diode laser. Surgimedics believes the joint venture will...

Maxxim completes acquisition of J&J Sterile Design. (Maxxim Medical Inc.) (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... Maxxim Medical, Inc., Sugarland, Tex., completed its acquisition of the Sterile Design Business from Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc., Arlington, Tex., for nearly $25 million in cash. Maxxim had competed against Sterile Design and others for...

Tomtec moving to U.S. from Germany despite sluggish U.S. ultrasound sales. (Tomographic Technologies Inc.) (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... Despite sluggish ultrasound imaging sales for U.S. companies, Tomographic Technologies (TomTec) Inc., Munich, Germany, is relocating the company's worldwide headquarters to Northbrook, Ill., in an effort to make better investor and industry...

AlliedSignal purchases Praxair sterilant gases to enter North American market. (AlliedSignal Inc.; Praxair Inc.) (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... AlliedSignal, Inc., Morris Township, N.J., purchased the sterilant gases business of Praxair, Inc., Danbury, Conn., to enter the North American health care market. AlliedSignal will combine its commitment to manufacturing environmentally...

Palomar acquires majority of Star Technology. (Palomar Medical Technologies Inc.; Star Medical Technologies) (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... As part of its strategy to build a diversified medical device and technology company, Palomar Medical Technologies, Inc., Westford, Mass., acquired an 80% interest in Star Medical Technologies, Pleasanton, Calif. As part of the transaction,...

Sales of cost-saving products to increase, HCTI study says. (Health Care Technology Institute) (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... Health care reform will cause sales of cost-saving medical products to rise and sales of cost-increasing products to drop, according to a report from the Health Care Technology Institute. The increasing popularity of cost-saving products...

Vascular testing industry gains local, state and federal lobbying group. (News Briefs)
September 1, 1993... Eight manufacturers of vascular products have joined together to form the Assn. for Cost-effective Cardiovascular Technology, which will lobby state, local, federal and private sector legislators on issues concerning the vascular testing...

Bristol-Myers Squibb deal with AmHS shakes vendors. ( American Healthcare System)
September 1, 1993... By signing a multi-billion dollar contract with American Healthcare Systems, Bristol-Myers Squibb has slowed a six-month trend of seeing its corporate agreements with large purchasing groups crumble because of its non-competitive high prices in...

$100,000 USSC booth. (United States Surgical Corp.'s booth at the American Heart Association exhibit)
September 1, 1993... USSC spent $40,000 for a 30ft x 50ft booth (1,500sf) at the AHA show. The exhibit itself, used at trade shows across the nation, cost USSC $100,000 to manufacture. It includes an enclosed, airconditioned booth capable of seating 30 people for...

Ethicon Endo-Surgery to lay off 335 employees. (Market Memo)
September 1, 1993... Ethicon Endo-Surgery is eliminating 335 salaried and hourly jobs. Analysts believe Ethicon Endo-Surgery is losing money by shaving its profit margins too much in an effort to rapidly gain market presence. Ethicon Endo-Surgery maintains that the...

Doctors' new toys - who makes the buying decision? (purchasing of medical equiopment) (Advertising Strategies)
September 1, 1993... During the 1980s, when it came to new instrumentation or capital equipment, clinicians used to get whatever they wanted. Advertising, quite naturally, reflected that trend, pitching almost exclusively to doctors, chemists and a few others...

ValueLink opens new facility; will add several others by 1995.
September 1, 1993... ValueLink, a business center within Baxter Hospital Supply, McGaw Park, Ill., will open its nineteenth medical-surgical distribution facility in October to service the San Francisco area. ValueLink has 14 distribution facilities and...

Owens & Minor expands Detroit presence, signs major deals. (Owens & Minor Inc.) (Distributor Briefs)
September 1, 1993... Owens & Minor, Inc., Richmond, Va., acquired distributor A. Kuhlman & Co., Detroit, Mich., in a cash-for-stock transaction in June to complement Owens & Minor Pandac[R] Wound Management Program. Owens & Minor also signed a five-year,...

Expertise of sales reps helps U.S. Surgical sell stapler. (U.S. Surgical Corp.; surgical stapler) (Product Strategies)
September 1, 1993... U.S. Surgical Corp., Norwalk, Conn., is promoting its new SQS-20 disposable subcuticular skin stapler and absorbable staples by emphasizing the product's time-saving benefits. The products were released in April. The company will rely on...

Applied Medical banking on resposable product's low cost to drive sales. (Applied Medical Resources) (Product Strategies)
September 1, 1993... Applied Medical Resources, Laguna Hills, Calif., is targeting vascular surgeons, operating room supervisors and materials managers as key prospects to purchase the company's new resposable angioscope that was released in July. Applied...

Puritan-Bennett's new systems help position as one-stop source. (Puritan-Bennett Corp.) (Product Strategies)
September 1, 1993... Puritan-Bennett Corp., Overland Park, Kan., is targeting the home care market to purchase the company's new Companion 320I/E Bi-Level Respiratory System, released May 15. The company is using primarily direct mail and trade journal advertising...

Brentwood Medical promoting new glove line in giveaway promotion. (Brentwood Medical Products)
September 1, 1993... To promote its new line of non-sterile, powder-free gloves, Brentwood Medical Products, Torrance, Calif., is giving away samples of the gloves when customers purchase other supplies from the company. Brentwood Medical released the new glove...

Medical Dynamics scope sheath cutting sterilization costs. (Medical Dynamics Inc.) (Product Strategies)
September 1, 1993... Medical Dynamics Inc., Englewood, Colo., is grabbing its share of the rapidly expanding minimally invasive surgery market with its patented Lap-Wrap[TM] laparoscopic sheath, released in June. Medical Dynamics, a laparoscope and optical...

Freeman targeting DMEs and PTs to purchase new SCD. (Freeman Manufacturing Co.; physical therapists; sequential compression deflator) (Product Strategies)
September 1, 1993... Freeman Manufacturing Co., Sturgis, Mich., introduced its Multipulse[TM] 1000, a peristaltic gradient sequential compression pump for prevention of deep vein thrombosis and treatment of lymphedema and other conditions that cause swollen limbs....

Webster targeting electrophysiologists with new cardiac catheter. (Webster Laboratories Inc.) (Product Strategies)
September 1, 1993... Webster Laboratories, Inc., Baldwin Park, Calif., launched its four-item line of electrophysiology catheters at the July 2 North American Society of Pacing & Electrophysiology convention. The company will target the estimated 1,100 to 1,200...

Ventritex on its feet following release of defibrillator system. (Ventritex Inc.) (Product Strategies)
September 1, 1993... Cross-licensing agreements costing $18.6 million for an implantable defibrillator system were primarily responsible for causing Ventritex, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., to suffer a net loss for the fourth quarter of $25.1 million. Its fourth...

Kodak introduces two products to fit in unaddressed niche market. (Eastman Kodak Co.) (Product Strategies)
September 1, 1993... Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., introduced two products last month tailored to open several niche markets the company feels haven't been properly addressed. Kodak's new X-Omatic identification camera is designed for radiologists who want...

Metra Biosystems Inc. (trials of Pyrilinks immunoassay test)
September 1, 1993... Metra Biosystems Inc., New York, announced the results of an 11-center clinical trial that showed the company's Pyrilinks[TM] immunoassay test can help detect elevated rates of bone loss. The results were announced at the American Assn. of...

Electromedics Inc. (submits design for intravenous oxygenator) (Around the Industry ...)
September 1, 1993... Electromedics Inc., Englewood, Colo., and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center presented at the 19th Congress of the International Society for Artificial Organs their design strategy for an intravenous oxygenator, which should provide...

Sonus Inc. (joint venture with Abbott Laboratories for production of ultrasound contrast agents) (Around the Industry ...)
September 1, 1993... Sonus Inc. has signed an agreement with Abbott Laboratories for the manufacture of its first product line, EchoGen[TM] ultrasound contrast agents for echocardiology and general radiology. The agreement calls for a cooperative contrast agent...

Lumex Inc. (Mark Abrahams resigns as president of CYBEX Division and Lumex vice president) (Newsmakers)
September 1, 1993... * Lumex Inc., Bay Shore, N.Y., accepted the resignation of Mark Abrahams, president of the company's CYBEX division and vice president of Lumex. Abrahams resigned to pursue other interests. Lawrence N. Cohen, chairman and chief executive...

Merit Medical Systems Inc. (appoints Brian L. Ferrand as vice president of sales) (Newsmakers)
September 1, 1993... * Merit Medical Systems Inc., Salt Lake City, named Brian L. Ferrand vice president of sales. Ferrand has been director of sales of the company since April 1992 and was Merit's national sales manager from Dec. 1991 to April 1992. He has held...

Stuart Medical Inc. (appoints Gregory K. Guckes and Ronald J. Nelson as regional vice presidents) (Newsmakers)
September 1, 1993... * Stuart Medical, Inc., Greensburg, Pa., named Gregory K. Guckes and Ronald J. Nelson regional vice presidents responsible for expanding medical-surgical distribution services business in the Western and Midwestern markets, respectively. ...

Anthony M. Cook. (elected to the board of the Health Industry Manufacturers Association) (Newsmakers)
September 1, 1993... * Anthony M. Cook, president of Health Care Americas, PM Co. was elected to the board of the Health Industry Manufacturers Assn. Cook will continue to serve on the Product Technology and Regulation Committee, and with this appointment will...

Health Industry Representatives Assn. (newly elected officers and directors) (Newsmakers)
September 1, 1993... * The Health Industry Representatives Assn. elected officers and directors at the annual management conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., in June. Dale Vann, Sunmed, Inc., Birmingham, Ala., was elected president, along with Frank Mahan, Mahan...

Medline Industries Inc. (appoints Richard Maddiex as president of Medcrest Linens Division and Robert Berndt as Personal Care Division) (Newsmakers)
September 1, 1993... * Medline Industries, Inc., Mundelein, Ill., switched the jobs of Richard Maddiex and Robert Berndt. Maddiex, formerly president of the company's Personal Care division, was named president of the Medcrest Linens division. Berndt, who headed...

Puritan-Bennett Corp. (promotes Thomas E. Jones to senior vice president) (Newsmakers)
September 1, 1993... * Puritan-Bennett Corp., Overland Park, Kan., promoted Thomas E. Jones to senior vice president. Jones joined Puritan-Bennett 20 years ago, and last served as general manager of the Puritan Group, which represents over half of the...

Picker International. (appoints Timothy B. Hansen as executive vice president)
September 1, 1993... * Picker International, Cleveland, appointed Timothy B. Hansen to the newly created position of executive vice president. Hansen has been with the company since 1982 and has held marketing, business development and management positions. ...

DeRoyal trying to boost sales by increasing presence through public relations firm. (DeRoyal Industries Inc.; Hanley-Wilson and Associates) (Market Memo)
September 1, 1993... DeRoyal Industries, Inc., Powell, Tenn., is hoping to boost sales by increasing the industry's awareness of the company and its products designed to reduce utilization costs. DeRoyal contracted with Knoxville, Tenn.-based public relations...