I-Flow Corp., Lake Forest, Calif., has acquired San Antonio, Texas-based Spinal Specialties, a producer and designer of custom spinal, epidural and nerve block infusion kits, for $1.5 million in cash and common stock.

"This acquisition provides I-Flow with a turnkey opportunity to enter another important therapeutic segment of the total pain management market," said Donald Earhart, I-Flow chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The acquisition also provides I-Flow with an established product line, which can be combined with I-Flow's infusion systems to create new high-margin products."

Medline Industries, Mundelein, Ill., and VerticalNet, Horsham, Pa. recently came to agreements with Neoforma.com, Santa Clara, Calif., a provider of health care business-to-business electronic-commerce services. Medline will list several of its products on Neoforma.com to allow it to expand into the physician market, officials said. The VerticalNet alignment allows Neoforma.com access to VerticalNet's sales force and e-commerce infrastructure in exchange for link access from VerticalNet's site to Neoforma's online catalog, officials said.