Health Industry Today articles from September 1996

Health Industry Today archives from September 1996

Two big players still command lion's share of specialty bed market. (specialized hospital beds)
September 1, 1996... Almost 10% of all patients confined to a bed suffer from pressure ulcers, and to treat those bedsores, hospitals frequently utilize specialized beds. These products may be low-airloss beds or air-fluidized beds. And as often as 85% of the time,...

Premier contract awards could trigger vendor consolidation wave. (Premier Inc.; hospital linen vendors)
September 1, 1996... Two competitors in the hospital linen business have banded together in an unexpected but ultimately successful effort to win a linen contract award from supergroup Premier Inc. Competitors in some, but not all product lines, Cincinnati-based...

New lap sponge costs more, but hospitals can cut usage, DeRoyal says. (DeRoyal Industries Inc.'s laparotomy sponge)
September 1, 1996... DeRoyal Industries Inc. is focusing not on price, but on utilization, as the way to win over new customers as part of a seemingly unorthodox marketing hook for a commodity item. The challenge is to market and sell its newly introduced laparotomy...

Marlow Surgical introduces multifunctional laparoscopic instrument. (Marlow Surgical Technologies Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Marlow Surgical Technologies Inc. hopes that the Christoudias Approximator, its latest niche product, will fulfill its bright promise as a boon to surgeons. Last winter, Marlow signed an agreement to market the multifunctional instrument with its...

Bard execs hit with jail terms. (former executives of C.R. Bard Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Three former executives of C.R. Bard Inc., Billerica, Mass., were sentenced to 18-month terms in federal prison for their part in their company's illegal experiments with new designs of heart catheters on humans, and for making false statements...

Computer Motion hopes surgeons will heed call for voice-controlled robot. (Computer Motion Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Its maker says that a surgical robot capable of maneuvering and positioning a laparoscope in response to a surgeon's voice could improve operating room efficiency and lower costs. The robot, touted as the latest advance in laparoscopy, is the...

Sherwood-Davis & Geck signs Monoject pacts.
September 1, 1996... Sherwood-Davis & Geck, St. Louis, signed a sole-source contract covering Monoject[R] needles and syringes with Western New York Regional Cooperative, a group managed by MedEcon Services Inc., Louisville, Ky. The contract calls for "immediate 100%...

CardioThoracic Systems making progress with new coronary procedure. (CardioThoracic Systems Inc.)
September 1, 1996... With intellectual property and a fresh 510(k) in hand since May, CardioThoracic Systems Inc. has been hard at work marketing its flagship product, the CTS Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass system. The system, known as MIDCAB for...

Zeiss claims a place as player in image-guided surgery market. (Carl Zeiss Inc.)
September 1, 1996... To the Editor, To correct an oversight in the August 1996 issue of Health Industry Today ("Picker's Viewpoint focuses on burgeoning spinal surgery market," p. 6). In that article, Carl Zeiss Inc. was omitted as a competitor in the image-guided...

FDA turning wary eye on Internet abusers.
September 1, 1996... By practically all estimates, marketing of medical supplies on the Internet is literally a waiting gold mine of opportunity. Where just a year ago only a scant few medical device manufacturers had ventured to take their marketing mix into...

Bedtime story: price not the sole consideration for GPO bed pacts. (group purchasing organization; hospital beds)
September 1, 1996... At least one group purchasing organization appears to have looked past traditional unit price issues when the time came to sign a national agreement for specialty beds. When asked to list the three most important considerations when evaluating...

Medline Industries Inc. (distribution/purchasing contract with Wausau Hospital)
September 1, 1996... Medline Industries Inc., Mundelein, Ill., reached agreement on a five-year distribution/purchasing partnership contract with Wausau Hospital, Wausau, Wis., that carries an estimated value of approximately $15 million over its term. The pact calls...

Palomar Medical Technologies. (Cosmetic Technologies International division signed contract with EquiMed Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Palomar Medical Technologies, Beverly, Mass., said that its Cosmetic Technologies International division has signed a definitive master agreement with EquiMed, a national physician practice management company specializing in oncology and...

APACHE Medical Systems Inc. (signed contract with University HealthSystem Consortium)
September 1, 1996... APACHE Medical Systems Inc., McLean, Va., signed an agreement with University HealthSystem Consortium, Oak Brook, Ill., to perform Best Demonstrated Practice benchmarking in 45 of the group's hospitals. Ten non-UHC hospitals will also participate...

Kodak's Health Imaging Division. (joins alliance to develop teleradiology systems)
September 1, 1996... Kodak's Health Imaging Division, Rochester, N.Y., will be part of a newly formed technology alliance aimed at developing and installing teleradiology systems in the Baltimore region. Kodak will join with Virginia-based Bell Atlantic Corp.,...

Sanofi Winthrop Pharmaceuticals. (Sanofi Winthrop GmbH signed pharmaceuticals and customer support services contract with VHA Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Sanofi Winthrop Pharmaceuticals, New York, and VHA Inc., Irving, Texas, signed what is described as a long-term agreement for pharmaceuticals and customer support services.

Imatron Inc. (received order for its Ultrafast CT scanners from HeartScan Imaging Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Imatron Inc., San Francisco, received an initial order for ten Ultrafast CT[R] scanners from the company's HeartScan Imaging, Inc. subsidiary. The deal, which is valued at more than $20 million (including service contracts and accessories), will...

Smith & Nephew. (Smith and Nephew Inc. signed contract with University HealthSystem Consortium to supply microsurgical drapes)
September 1, 1996... Smith & Nephew, Memphis, Tenn., signed contracts with University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), Oak Brook, Ill., to supply microsurgical drapes to participating UHC members. The agreements will also enable those members to access trauma,...

Owen Healthcare Inc. (signed agreement with new Malaysian company to distribute pharmacy automation system and pharmacy management software)
September 1, 1996... Owen Healthcare Inc., Houston, signed agreements with a newly formed Malaysian company to distribute its pharmacy automation system and pharmacy management software in 35 Asian and Asian Pacific nations. The new company is controlled by Remedi, a...

U.S. Medical Instruments Inc. (received orders for its SafeSnap hypodermic syringe from Nipro Inc.)
September 1, 1996... U.S. Medical Instruments Inc., San Diego, received a $3 million order for its SafeSnap[TM] hypodermic safety/security syringe from the Nipro Corp. of Japan. Delivery of the approximately 12 million syringes to Nipro is expected over the next five...

American BioMed. (American BioMed Inc. signed contract with National Purchasing Alliance for various catheters)
September 1, 1996... American BioMed, The Woodlands, Texas, signed a three-year agreement with National Purchasing Alliance, Irvine, Calif., that covers a line of embolectomy, embolectomy/irrigation, biliary, occlusion and thermodilution catheters.

Siemens Medical Systems Inc. (will sell ten of its MAGNETOM Open MRI systems to Questar Imaging Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Siemens Medical Systems Inc., Iselin, N.J., will sell ten of its MAGNETOM[R] Open MRI systems to Questar Imaging Inc., Tampa, Fla., under terms of an agreement reached last month. Questar is a year-old company involved in establishing MRI...

Bioject Inc. (signed supply contract with Schering AG)
September 1, 1996... Bioject Inc., Portland, Ore., signed a supply agreement with Schering AG, Germany, under which Bioject will manufacture and sell to Schering AG its Betaseron Needle-Free System[TM] on a worldwide basis. The system is used by multiple sclerosis...

Earnings still slow for Allegiance, OMI; alternate site suppliers post big gains. (Allegiance Corp.; Owens and Minor Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Perhaps demonstrating that the money these days in the medical-surgical supply distribution business can no longer be found in hospitals, the top two medical distributors reported disappointing second quarter 1996 financial results. Allegiance...

Medical Action, PSS in distribution pact; PSS acquires Belgian distributor. (Medical Action Industries Inc.; Physician Sales and Service Inc.; New Paul Louis S.A.)
September 1, 1996... Medical Action Industries Inc., Hauppauge, N.Y., signed a series of distribution agreements with Physician Sales and Services Inc. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based distributor to the primary care and physicians office market will now sell Medical...

G.M. to sell Safeskin gloves through 1999. (General Medical Corp.; Safeskin Corp.)
September 1, 1996... The distribution agreement between Richmond, Va.-based General Medical Corp. and San Diego-based Safeskin Corp. will extend for at least another three years following the signing of a deal involving as much as $100 million in Safeskin's...

Durr inks pact with LTC concern. (Durr Medical Corp.; Living Centers of America)
September 1, 1996... Durr Medical, the Alabama-based medical-surgical supply arm of Bergen Brunswig Corp., Orange, Calif., won a five-year, $100 million prime distribution vendor contract with Living Centers of America. Houston-based Living Centers operates a number...

Hologic Inc. (will merge with FluoroScan Imaging Systems Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Hologic Inc., Waltham, Mass., says it will merge with FluoroScan Imaging Systems, Inc., Northbrook, Ill., a manufacturer of mini C-arm imaging systems for minimally invasive surgery. This merger is scheduled to close sometime this month. The deal...

I-Flow Corp. (will acquire Block Medical Inc. assets)
September 1, 1996... I-Flow Corp., Irvine, Calif., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the assets of Block Medical, Inc., a San Diego-based wholly owned subsidiary of Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., Batesville, Ind. Block Medical, which manufactures...

Lasermedics Inc. (Henley HealthCare division has signed distribution contract with Ergomedics Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Lasermedics Inc., Sugar Land, Texas, said that its Henley Healthcare division has completed a distribution agreement with Ergomedics, Inc., Winooski, Vt., to market the Ergomedics BackCycler CPM[TM]. The agreement allows Lasermedics to distribute...

Urohealth Systems Inc. (has agreed to acquire Richard Allan Medical Industries)
September 1, 1996... Urohealth Systems Inc., Newport Beach, Calif., has agreed to acquire Richard-Allan Medical Industries Inc., Richland, Mich., for $55 million in cash and stock. Previously known as Davstar Industries, Urohealth specializes in products and services...

Mallinckrodt Group Inc. (signed marketing and distribution contract for Conceptus Inc.'s Fallopian Tube Catheterization Systems)
September 1, 1996... Mallinckrodt Group Inc., St. Louis, and Conceptus Inc., San Carlos, Calif., signed an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement covering North, Central and South America that will market Conceptus' Fallopian Tube Catheterization System to...

Urologix Inc. (signed international distribution agreement with Boston Scientific Corp.)
September 1, 1996... Urologix Inc., Minneapolis, signed an international distribution agreement with Boston Scientific Corp., Watertown, Mass., that makes Boston Scientific the exclusive distributor of the Urologix Transurethral Thermo-ablation Therapy (T3) System...

Norian Corp. (signed distribution contract with Mochida Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.)
September 1, 1996... Norian Corp., Cupertino, Calif., has signed an exclusive marketing distribution agreement with Tokyo-based Mochida Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. that gives Mochida ten-year distribution rights in Japan for Norian's SRS[R] skeletal repair system. Norian...

Protocol Systems Inc. (completed merger with Pryon Corp.)
September 1, 1996... Protocol Systems Inc., Beaverton, Ore., and Pryon Corp., Memomenee Falls, Wis., completed a merger previously announced on Feb. 20, 1996 aimed at raising Protocol Systems' status as a provider of OEM technologies to the device segment. Combined,...

Safeskin Corp. (will open a distribution center in Chicago, Illinois)
September 1, 1996... Safeskin Corp., San Diego, will open a distribution center near Chicago for its hypoallergenic disposable latex gloves. The center, located in Des Plaines, Ill., is designed to place Safeskin closer to its distributors and end-users, enabling the...

Thermo Electron Corp. (will acquire SensorMedics Corp.)
September 1, 1996... Thermo Electron Corp., Waltham, Mass., will acquire SensorMedics Corp., Yorba Linda, Calif., a manufacturer of systems for pulmonary function diagnosis with annual sales of approximately $62.8 million. SensorMedics also manufactures and sells to...

Medex Inc. (sold portion of ambulatory product line assets to McKinley Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Medex Inc., Columbus, Ohio, has sold a portion of its ambulatory product line assets, the WalkMed[R] Ambulatory Infusion Pump product line, to McKinley Inc., Wheat Ridge, Colo., for undisclosed terms. The sale, which was completed July 1, covers...

St. Jude Medical Inc. (will merge with Cyberonics Inc.)
September 1, 1996... St. Jude Medical Inc., St. Paul, Minn., and Cyberonics, Inc., Webster, Texas, have won shareholder approval for their previously announced merger. The two companies jointly announced merger plans on April 8, 1996. Based on today's favorable...

Stryker Corp. (will acquire Osteo Holdings AG and its subsidiary companies in Switzerland)
September 1, 1996... Stryker Corp., Kalamazoo, Mich., signed an agreement to acquire Osteo Holdings AG, Selzach, Switzerland, and its subsidiary companies in Switzerland, Germany, France, Australia and the United States (where it is known as the Osteo Group). The...

United States Surgical Corp. (acquired controlling interest in Medolas GmbH)
September 1, 1996... United States Surgical Corp., Norwalk, Conn., acquired controlling interest in Medolas GmbH of Munich, Germany, a developer and manufacturer of transmyocardial revascularization heart products utilizing its own excimer lasers. Under terms of the...

Wright Medical Technology Inc. (signed joint venture agreement with Tissue Engineering Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Wright Medical Technology Inc., Arlington, Tenn., has signed a joint venture agreement with Boston-based Tissue Engineering Inc., a company that develops collagen-based scaffolds used for ligament and tendon reconstruction. The two companies will...

Ximed Medical Systems. (signed strategic alliance with CooperSurgical Inc.)
September 1, 1996... Ximed Medical Systems, San Jose, Calif., signed a strategic alliance with Cooper Surgical Inc., a subsidiary of The Cooper Companies, Inc., Shelton, Conn., to market a family of electrovaporization products - roller bars, roller loops, and...

PureTec Corp. (will build a specialty plastics manufacturing facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland)
September 1, 1996... PureTec Corp., Ridgefield, N.J., will build a specialty plastics manufacturing facility in a suburb of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The company produces specialty plastic products used in, among other things, precision tubing for medical...

NeoPath Inc. (signed agreement with Nikon Corp. to distribute its AutoPap System in Japan)
September 1, 1996... NeoPath Inc., Redmond, Wash., signed an agreement with Nikon Corp. that makes the Tokyo-based company an authorized distributor of NeoPath's AutoPap System in Japan for at least the next five years. The Japanese market is said to conduct as many...

Fischer Imaging Corp. (signed distribution agreement with Acoustic Imaging Technologies Corp.)
September 1, 1996... Fischer Imaging Corp., Denver, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Phoenix-based Acoustic Imaging Technologies Corp., under which Fischer Imaging will market Acoustic Imaging's Performa[R] Breast Ultrasound System. That system...