The Food & Drug Administration wants more answers about possibly elevated cancer risks from Medtronic Inc.’s (NYSE:MDT) Amplify spinal implant, which uses a bone morphogenic protein to stimulate bone growth.
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The day before tomorrow
One morning, my daughter Lucy, who was six at the time, asked me a question out of the blue. "Daddy?" she asked with a thoughtful look on her face, "When’s the day before tomorrow?" I hadn’t had my first cup of coffee yet, so it took me a moment to process the question. "That’s today," I said. And then it hit me. I smiled. "Lucy, you just invented a whole new way to say the word today."
Uroplasty stock offering raises $16 million
The underwriters of a 4.6 million-share stock offering by Uroplasty Inc. (NSDQ:UPI) snapped up a 600,000 over-allotment, taking the $3.50-per-share offering’s value to $16.1 million.
The Minnetonka, Minn.-based company makes a nerve stimulation device designed to treat overactive bladders.
GE Healthcare partners with Ohio institutions to make MRI coils for kids.
By Mary Vanac
An Aurora, Ohio, subsidiary of GE Healthcare is teaming with clinicians and researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Ohio State University to find better ways to take magnetic resonance images of children.
GEHC Coils Inc. — the former USA Instruments Inc. — will use a $1 million Ohio Third Frontier grant to work with the medical center and Ohio State’s Davis Heart and Lung Institute to design, build and validate MRI coils and surgical fixation devices for children.
IDEXX posts double-digit Q2 profit gains, but lowers guidance
IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (NSDQ:IDXX) lowered its guidance for full-year sales growth despite a second quarter that saw it boost its bottom line by 10 percent.
The Westbrook, Maine-based veterinary diagnostics maker reported net earnings of $37 million, or 62 cents per diluted share, on sales of $281 million during the three months ended June 30. That compares with net earnings of $33.7 million, or 55 cents per diluted share, on sales of $266 million during the same period last year.
Now is the time for medical device makers to get on board with accountable care
By John Smith
Accountable Care Organizations will be part of the new healthcare reform. They hope to encourage a healthcare system that pays doctors and hospitals to keep you well, not just treat you when you’re sick. They also would give doctors a financial incentive to limit unnecessary tests and prod patients to exercise more and eat better. And, included in healthcare reform, “gains sharing” will now be allowed from hospitals to physicians from savings due to operating efficiencies, quality improvement, reduced re-admissions, lower infection rates, etc. It will be a system where hospitals would benefit from keeping you OUT of the hospital.
Mastering the art of great follow-up
Someone I spoke with recently told me that she’s heard that 90 percent of sales come after the sixth sales call, but most people stop long before that. There are many variations on this theme, but essentially in order to get what you want, be it a sale or a job, you have to be tenacious, focused and persistent.
A lot of people seem confused about what constitutes great follow-up. Some are worried about annoying others if they’re overly persistent. Others don’t seem to understand that they are rubbing people the wrong way. Striking the right balance can bring so many rewards that it’s worth figuring out the right way to go about it.
We all know this. I am not telling you anything new. So why it is so difficult for many people?
NxStage Medical trends positive again during Q2
NxStage Medical Inc. (NSDQ:NXTM) took another leap along the path to profitability during the second quarter, posting a 20.9 percent revenues increase and shaving losses by 34 percent.
The Lawrence, Mass.-based home hemodialysis products maker reported net losses of $8.3 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, on sales of $44.0 million during the three months ended June 30. That compares with net losses of $12.5 million, or 27 cents per diluted share, during the same period last year.
Medicare reimbursement hold, rising expenses hit Athenahealth’s Q2 profits
Athenahealth Inc. (NSDQ:ATHN) saw its second-quarter profits plunge on a June Medicare reimbursement hold and rising expenses, despite a 28 percent uptick for its Q2 top line.
The Watertown, Mass.-based electronic medical records provider reported net income of $1.3 million, or 4 cents per diluted share, on sales of $58.6 million during the three months ended June 30. That’s a 42.2 percent decline in net income; the company posted profits of $2.2 million, or 6 cents per diluted share, on sales of $45.6 million during Q2 2009.
Exchange rates, earnings adjustments carry the day for C.R. Bard
A strong dollar was just enough to bulk up second-quarter results at C.R. Bard Inc. (NYSE:BCR) as the surgical, vascular and oncology technology company out-muscled Wall Street expectations.
The Murray Hill, N.J.-based medical device company reported $124.6 million in second-quarter profits on $673.9 million in net sales. Earnings rose 11 percent over year-ago levels, reaching $1.29 a share, although after acquisition-related expenses and certain write-downs adjusted earnings grew to $1.39 a share, beating the consensus analyst forecast by 3 cents.
AxioMed pulls in $14.5 million to fund U.S. spinal disc study
By Mary Vanac
AxioMed Spine Corp. raised $14.5 million in Series D funding to help the company finish enrolling patients for a pivotal U.S. clinical study of its lumbar disc replacement and earn CE Mark approval for its cervical disc in Europe.
The Garfield Heights, Ohio-based developer of next-generation spinal disc replacements said it raised the money in two tranches from new and existing investors.