The attorney general of New Mexico has filed a lawsuit against Sterigenics and associated companies claiming a company medtech sterilization plant in Santa Teresa, N.M. has harmed air quality and “materially contributed” to nearby residents’ health risks. In the claim filed Dec. 22, 2020, attorney general Hector Balderas alleges that Sterigenics has caused “substantial unreported, uncontrolled releases” […]
Sterilization / Calibration
FDA OKs Ecolab’s Bioquell technology system for N95 decontamination
Ecolab announced today that it received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for use of its Bioquell technology system on N95 masks. St. Paul, Minn.-based Ecolab’s Bioquell BQ-50 and Bioquell ProteQ decontamination systems received the EUA so healthcare facilities can decontaminate N95 respirator masks on-site to help address shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bioquell technology uses […]
3B Medical wins EUA for mask decontamination in nursing homes
3B Medical announced that it received FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) for the use of its Lumin UVC system for N95 mask decontamination. Lumin is designed for cleaning CPAP accessories but is also used as a multi-purpose sanitizer, 3B Medical said in a news release. The FDA EUA allows for the use of Lumin by healthcare […]
Steris closes on Key Surgical buy
Steris (NYSE:STE) announced this week that it has closed on its $850 million purchase of Key Surgical, a manufacturer of disposable hospital and surgical products. Mentor, Ohio-based Steris now anticipates that Key Surgical will add about 35% more revenue and adjusted earnings per diluted share in the fiscal year than initially anticipated with a December 31, […]
Sotera Health files for $1.1 billion IPO
Sotera Health has filed with the SEC to confirm its intent to raise nearly $1.1 billion in an initial public offering. Broadview Heights, Ohio-based Sotera Health said in the filing out yesterday that it expects to sell 46.6 million shares of its common stock at an assumed IPO price of $21.50 per share, totaling $949.3 […]
Steris to acquire Key Surgical for $850M
Steris (NYSE:STE) announced this week that it has agreed to buy Key Surgical, a manufacturer of disposable hospital and surgical products, for $850 million. Mentor, Ohio-based Steris said it expects that the acquisition will qualify for a tax benefit related to tax-deductible goodwill, effectively reducing the purchase price to approximately $810 million. Key Surgical, a portfolio […]
Olympus announces new endoscope reprocessing technology
Olympus (TYO:7733) announced today that it launched its OER-Elite next-generation automated endoscope reprocessor (AER) on the market. Center Valley, Pa.-based Olympus’ OER-Elite is designed to simultaneously clean and disinfect up to two endoscopes in 28 minutes with Acecide-C, a peracetic, acid-based disinfectant. It also includes a cleaning cycle with a combination of EndoQuick alkaline detergent and […]
CDC: Ethylene oxide may have more health effects than cancer
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday released a draft toxicity profile of ethylene oxide (EtO) that treats it as a more far-reaching health threat than the Environmental Protection Agency does. The EPA and the federal Department of Health and Human Services both consider EtO a human carcinogen. The medical device industry relies on […]
Federal rule on ethylene oxide now delayed until 2021
The final federal rule limiting ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions from commercial medtech sterilization plants is now set to come out in 2021, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the EPA had expected to issue the rule in May 2020. The agency considers ethylene oxide a carcinogen, and EtO emissions have attracted national […]
6 Georgia residents suing Sterigenics, BD over ethylene oxide exposure
The first six of what attorneys said could be more than 100 lawsuits were filed recently in Georgia against Sterigenics and Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) by people who have lived, worked or attended school near those companies’ medical device sterilization plants. The plants use ethylene oxide (EtO) to sterilize millions of devices per year and reportedly have emitted thousands pounds of the […]
How decontamination could solve the COVID-19 mask shortage problem
With cold and flu season rapidly approaching, public health officials worry about a resurgence of COVID-19 and personal protective equipment shortages. Protecting frontline workers will likely include decontaminating face masks. A spike in COVID-19 cases this fall and winter could leave healthcare facilities with renewed shortages of personal protective equipment — particularly masks. Hundreds of […]