The Manufacturer NewsWire

Mar 1, 2001 12:00 PM

•People & Places

Chad Names Sales Director: Erika Laskey is the new director of sales and marketing for Chatsworth, Calif.-based Chad Therapeutics. Formerly with Mallinckrodt, Laskey has primary responsibility for all areas of sales and marketing.

Promotions at Roho and Crown: Crown Therapeutics of Belleville, Ill., has announced three promotions. Cynthia Fleck is the new director of global education and training, and is responsible for consolidating and developing education training for Roho Inc. and its Crown and Roho International subsidiaries. Scott Fiss is the new director of national accounts and is responsible for developing sales, training and distribution strategies for many Crown and Roho product lines. Tina Roesler is now Crown's clinical applications manager and is responsible for rehabilitation training and education for Crown and Roho.

Wenzelite Names Sales Manager: Jeff Zwiebel is the new national sales manager for Wenzelite Re/hab of Brooklyn, N.Y. Zwiebel was the general manager of New York-based Kenmar Surgical for 18 years.

McKesson Names Executives: San Francisco-based McKesson HBOC named Keith Mallonee its first chief privacy executive. Mallonee is overseeing companywide compliance with policies and procedures governing the security, confidentiality and quality of patient information, as well as reviewing and updating operations and business practices to safeguard privacy within the company. McKesson also appointed Francis Dirksmeier president of BakerAPS, which is part of the company's automation group. Dirksmeier is supervising all BakerAPS activities including sales, engineering, product development, operations and marketing.

Pride Opens Texas Distribution Center: Exeter, Pa.-based Pride Mobility Products has opened a distribution center in Carrollton, Texas. The company's third distribution facility offers providers the option of picking up products at the center, in some cases on the same day the order is placed. The center serves providers in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico and Oklahoma in addition to Texas.

•People & Places

New MCS Appointments: Philadelphia-based MCS has named Adriana Falco marketing manager and Scott Johnson sales manager. Falco is responsible for developing corporate marketing strategies, including image and branding. Johnson, in his newly created position, is charged with identifying potential customers and developing relationships for the company.

iMcKesson Appoints VP of HR: iMcKesson, a subsidiary of San Francisco-based McKesson HBOC, has named Barbara Hurtig senior vice president of human resources. Hurtig was executive director of human resources for QuantumShift in Novato, Calif.

Bergen Appoints Upper Management: Orange, Calif.-based Bergen Brunswig has appointed Michael Montevideo corporate vice president and treasurer and named John McAlpine chief financial officer of its largest subsidiary, Bergen Brunswig Drug. Montevideo was senior vice president and CFO of Imagyn Medical Technologies, and McAlpine served as president and chief administrative officer for Atlas Business Services.

•Alliances

PolyMedica Signs First Cobranding Agreement: Woburn, Mass.-based PolyMedica has signed its first cobranding agreement, with Abbott Laboratories in Abbott Park, Ill. Under the agreement, PolyMedica subsidiary Liberty Medical Supply will sell and distribute Abbott's Medisense Optium blood glucose meter.

iMcKesson Signs Two Deals: McKesson HBOC subsidiary iMcKesson finalized a two-year contract extension with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association for iMcKesson's care management services. The agreement is estimated to be worth $16 million per year. iMcKesson also said it will provide asthma care services to the 35,000 members of Vancouver, Wash.-based Columbia United Providers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Medline Awarded Contracts: Mundelein, Ill.-based Medline Industries has been awarded durable medical equipment and disposable protective apparel contracts totaling $4 million by Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Consorta, a health care group purchasing organization.

Respironics Lands Ventilation Contracts: Pittsburgh-based Respironics has signed three-year agreements to provide ventilation products and accessories to members of Magnet of Mechanicsburg, Pa., and to customers of Novation of Irving, Texas. The value of the agreements was not disclosed.

•Financials

Invacare: Elyria, Ohio-based Invacare posted record net earnings of $18.8 million, or 61 cents a share, for the fiscal 2000 fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. This is a 17 percent increase compared with net earnings, excluding special charges, of $16 million, or 52 cents a share, for the same quarter last year. The company also reported record net earnings and sales for the year. Earnings were $59.9 million, or $1.95 a share, a 19 percent increase compared with net earnings of $50.5 million, or $1.65 a share, a year ago. The earnings were on revenue of $1 billion, a company revenue goal set five years ago.

Bergen Brunswig: Orange, Calif.-based Bergen Brunswig recorded net earnings of $21.4 million, or 16 cents a share, for the fiscal 2001 first quarter ended Dec. 31. This represents a 46 percent increase compared with net earnings of $14.7 million, or 16 cents a share, for the same quarter last year.

Johnson & Johnson: New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson posted consolidated net earnings, excluding special charges associated with the acquisition of Atrionix, of $924 million, or 65 cents a share, for the fiscal 2000 fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. That represents a 16.1 percent increase compared with net earnings, excluding special charges, of $796 million, or 56 cents a share, for the same quarter last year. For the year, the company reported net earnings of $4.8 billion, or $3.40 a share, a 15 percent increase compared with net earnings of $4.2 billion, or $2.94 a share, a year ago.

McKesson HBOC: San Francisco-based McKesson HBOC recorded net earnings from continuing operations before special items of $69.3 million, or 24 cents a share, for the fiscal 2001 third quarter ended Dec. 31. Net earnings were $60.5 million, or 21 cents a share, for the same quarter of fiscal 2000.

Respironics: Pittsburgh-based Respironics reported net earnings of $8 million, or 26 cents a share, for the fiscal 2001 second quarter ended Dec. 31. This is a 42 percent increase compared with net earnings of $5.7 million, or 19 cents a share, for the same quarter in fiscal 2000.

Span-America Medical Systems: Greenville, S.C.-based Span-America Medical Systems reported triple-digit growth in net income to $327,000, or 13 cents a share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2001 compared with $151,000, or 6 cents a share, for the same quarter a year ago. Officials attributed the 117 percent leap to higher sales in both medical and custom products.

•Milestones

Recognition for ResMed: Poway, Calif.-based ResMed was ranked as the top-performing medical products company in the United States by Investor's Business Daily. The rating was based on consistent earnings-per-share growth and share-price strength.

Invacare Achieves $1 Billion Goal: Elyria, Ohio-based Invacare surpassed $1 billion in sales in 2000, reaching a goal the company set five years ago. “We are now focused on a new goal of becoming a $2 billion company by the end of 2005 with compounded annual earnings-per-share growth of 13 to 15 percent,” said chairman and chief executive officer Mal Mixon.

Medline Reaches Landmark: With the close of 2000, Mundelein, Ill.-based Medline Industries announced that it has surpassed $1 billion in sales for the first time. During the past 10 years, Medline has grown more than 300 percent, averaging 15 percent growth per year. President Andy Mills attributed the growth to the “passion and sense of responsibility” that employees bring to their work with customers.

•Mergers & Acquisitions

Fresenius Closes Everest Deal: Bad Homburg, Germany-based Fresenius Medical Care has acquired Oak Park, Ill.-based Everest Healthcare Services for $343 million. The deal includes Everest's 70 clinical facilities, which provide therapy to about 6,800 patients, as well as its extracorporal blood services and acute dialysis businesses.

Welco, CGI, Praxair Form Company: Newark, N.J.-based Welco Gases, CGI Industries of Pine Brook, N.J. and Praxair Distribution of Danbury, Conn., a subsidiary of Praxair Inc., have formed a joint venture business, Welco-CGI Gas Technologies. The new company will employ 250 people and be led by Rob D'Alessandro as president and chief executive officer. Welco-CGI will provide industrial, medical and specialty gases to customers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Span-America, Synalloy End Acquisition Talks: Greenville, S.C.-based Span-America Medical Systems said that it and Spartanburg, S.C.-based Synalloy have mutually discontinued acquisition discussions. Synalloy had announced its interest in acquiring Span-America in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing in December.

•Product Updates

Ascent asthma treatment: Wilmington, Mass.-based Ascent Pediatrics received Food and Drug Administration clearance to market Orapred, an oral asthma treatment for children.

Chad oxygen conserver: Chatsworth, Calif.-based Chad Therapeutics received FDA clearance to market its Oxymatic 411 electronic oxygen conserver.

CSI blood oxygen measurement: Milwaukee-based Criticare Systems Inc. received a technology patent concerning the measurement of blood oxygen saturation. According to CSI, the technology increases the speed and accuracy of the measurement, and addresses a wider range of patient conditions.

MediSense diabetes management system: Bedford, Mass.-based Abbott Laboratories' MediSense Products division has received FDA approval to market Sof-Tact, an automated diabetes management system that provides lancing, blood collection and glucose testing with a single press of a button.

MRG glucose sensor, insulin pump: Sylmar, Calif.-based Medical Research Group has obtained FDA approval to commence human trials of its long-term implantable glucose sensor and implantable insulin pump.

TheraSense glucose monitoring system: Alameda, Calif.-based TheraSense won FDA clearance for expanded use of its FreeStyle glucose monitoring system. Additional testing sites are the upper arm, thigh, calf and anywhere on the hand.

Welch Allyn wireless patient monitor: Portland, Ore.-based Welch Allyn Protocol received FDA clearance to market its Micropaq wireless ambulatory patient monitor.