Medical Device Link.

Maximizing Your Company’s Sale Price

Beau Fisher

During the current recession we have seen the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the sale of Merrill Lynch, the rise and fall of oil, major stock market indices slashed, housing prices plummet, credit markets freeze, government bailouts and stimulus packages, companies going out of business, and unemployment at 25 year highs. During this volatile recession, the majority of business owners in the middle-market (companies valued between $5,000,000 and $1 million) have seen a significant reduction in their companies’ value. Business owners’ most valuable possessions—the businesses—are not worth what they once were. Even though owners have seen business value erode,it is important that they understand that there are methods to minimize the damage from the recession and ways to maximize a company’s sale price. Financial expert Beau Fisher talks about the steps device companies should take to ensure the sale price is acceptable.

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Surveying the Reimbursement ‘Landscape’

Amir Inbar

By taking a step-by-step approach for handling reimbursement issues, device companies may be able to shorten the time to generating substantial sales with their product and reduce the costs associated with overcoming reimbursement hurdles by making the right strategic decisions early on and by combining clinical studies to serve regulatory as well as reimbursement purposes. Doing so requires that companies address coding, coverage policies, payment methods, and other reimbursement questions early in a device’s life cycle. Reimbursement expert Amir Inbar looks to demystify the reimbursement process by providing the eight critical steps required for the reimbursement of any medical device. [MORE]

Court Case on Patent Delays Holds Appeal for Industry

Jason Honeyman

In certain business sectors, particularly the medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology spaces, extending the term of a patent by a year or even by a few months can dramatically improve the bottom line. This is particularly true where sales are thriving as the successful medical device or drug is about to come off patent—just when generics manufacturers and other industry players prepare to enter the field and snatch market share. Patent attorneys Jason M. Honeyman and MaryDilys Anderson examine a disputed legal ruling that gives device companies the chance to extend patent terms, provided they take the proper steps. [MORE]

CEOs Shy Away From Breakthrough Technology

Although there is much uncertainty surrounding the outcomes of economic recovery and healthcare reform, the CEOs of four bioscience companies must adjust for the future now. On September 14, the leaders of Bio-Optronics (Rochester, NY), ConMed (Utica, NY), Greatbatch (Buffalo, NY), and Welch Allyn (Syracuse, NY) participated in the discussion, “Just What the Doctor Ordered: CEOs and Their Prescription for Success in a Changing Economy.” The Web conference was hosted by industry organization MedTech. The financial collapse has had different effects on the four New York companies. ConMed, a company that focuses on technology for minimally invasive surgery, has experienced about a 25% drop in capital sales in the first two quarters of 2009. [MORE]

BIOMEDevice · December 9-10, 2009 · San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA

PEAK Surgical Inc. (Palo Alto, Ca) and Medtronic Inc. have reached an agreement that grants the Surgical Technologies business at Medtronic exclusive rights for global distribution and marketing of the PEAK PlasmaBlade TnA (Tonsil and Adenoid) tissue dissection device for the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) market. The agreement provides Medtronic with exclusive global distribution rights for the PEAK PlasmaBlade TnA tissue dissection device for the ENT market. Additionally, PEAK will have access to a line of credit that can be used for general working capital purposes.

ResMed (San Diego), which makes products to treat sleep apnea and other respiratory problems, has reported that it will aqcuire Lyon, France-based Laboratoires Narval for € 8 million ($12 million). ResMed says the French company's Narval O.R.M., known as a mandibular repositioning device, complements the line of air generators and masks that make up the bulk of ResMed's business. Employees of the Laboratorie will remian in Lyon, where ResMed already has a office. The Narval O.R.M. device is customized for each patient with a computer-aided design and manufacturing process. It pushes the tongue and jaw forward during sleep to increase airway space. The company plans to market the device in France, where it is eligible for reimbursement, and then select European markets. The device is not currently eligible for reimbursement in the United States. ResMed's sales of $921 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30 make it one of the largest biomedical companies in San Diego County.

Franklin & Seidelmann Subspecialty Radiology (Beachwood, OH) has raised $12.5 millionto expand into new markets and add services. Details of the money-raise have not been disclosed. Teleradiologists read and report on electronic medical images remotely, through the use of computer technology and high-speed data connections. Franklin & Seidelmann's network of 53 subspecialty radiologists report back to healthcare institutions (mostly hospitals and imaging centers). Subspecialty radiologists read only certain types of images, such as MRIs of the knee or ultrasounds of the heart. Company cofounder Frank Seidelmann is a radiologist who specializes in images of the brain. The company has invested millions of dollars in computer and information technology so it can quickly and securely transmit images to subspecialist teleradiologists throughout the country. Other previous investors in Franklin & Seidelmann include Oak Investment Partners, which two years ago invested $25 million to expand the company and improve its technology.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (Irvine, CA) has announced its intentions to develop a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Draper, UT. The company says the facility will significantly expand manufacturing and R&D capabilities. Incentives form the state of Utah total approximately $11.5 million. That figure is based on the current 228 jobs being retained and more than 1,000 projected new jobs in manufacturing, business, and engineering expected to be created in the state during the life of the 15-year incentive period. The company also accepted an incentive from the City of Draper for approximately $3 million based on capital investments and employment rates over a seven-year incentive period. As the first step of its planned expansion, the company will transfer manufacturing of its market-leading cannula and embolic protection devices utilized by cardiac surgeons during open-heart surgery from its existing Midvale, UT facility to the new facility in Draper in the first half of 2010.

December 3-4:
Developing and Managing a Successful Technology and Product Strategy, Cambridge, MA

December 3-4:
Developing and Managing a Successful Technology and Product Strategy, Cambridge, MA

December 7–9:
Medical Device Portfolio and Management Summit, San Jose

December 8–10:
Successful Acquisition Integration, Pasadena, CA

December 8–10:
Competitive Healthcare Strategies, Radnor, PA

December 9-10:
BIOMEDevice, San Jose