FDA OKs Inogen One
In May, Inogen Corp, Santa Barbara, Calif, received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin marketing its lightweight portable concentrator that the company asserts is the “one device that will replace many.” Called Inogen One, the oxygen concentrator is quiet, compact, and energy efficient. “Previously available technologies fall into one of two categories, portable or stationary; the Inogen One serves both needs,” a company spokesperson says.
Using sensitive oxygen conserver technology, the concentrator features long battery life; a user-friendly LCD; large-print, easy-to-read-and-understand product materials; and a family of accessory products. Inogen Corp is finalizing an agreement with a national distribution partner and soon will announce details to the public. Inogen One will begin shipping in October.
Drive Medical Expands
HME manufacturer Drive Medical Design and Manufacturing is relocating its headquarters to a space that is nearly three times as large as its existing corporate office. Both offices are located in Port Washington, NY, but the new facility holds 22,000 sq ft compared to the 8,000 sq ft of the company’s current location.
Drive also has opened a 125,000-sq-ft distribution facility in Pico Rivera, Calif, that will provide service to the western United States. The 125,000-sq-ft facility in Hauppauge, NY, will be home of Drive’s east coast distribution facility, providing service throughout the northeast, west to Wisconsin, and south to Virginia. In December, the company’s 30,000- sq-ft southeast distribution center in Decatur, Ga, will be relocating to an 84,000-sq-ft facility in Ellenwood, Ga.
“The additional warehouse space was necessary to facilitate our company’s growing product line,” says Harvey Diamond, president and CEO of Drive Medical. “The new warehouse space will utilize the latest technologies and distribution solutions to increase our efficiencies and provide industry leading service levels to our customers.”
| HME Insider  “If you make taking treatments easier for the patient, there is a good chance that they will continue to take them,” says Dan Fry, president of Revlis Medical, Windermere, Fla. Dealer/Provider spoke with Fry about the components Revlis Medical has added to its new products to simplify respiratory treatments for patients.
What are the most significant hindrances to patient compliance with respiratory treatments?
It seems that most patients don’t have a clear understanding of how the medications and equipment work and how long to continue taking their meds. This education should take place at the physician’s office, but the number of patients that doctors see in a day seems to have risen dramatically in the past 10 years, so it’s tough to expect them to take the time to instruct patients correctly. With the tremendous cuts in reimbursement, it is difficult for home care companies to send out high-paid staff to patients’ homes to educate them. One area that we felt something could be done was in the equipment itself. If you make taking treatments easier for the patient, there is a good chance that they will continue to take them. Why are these problems especially pertinent for seniors?
Seniors present a special challenge. Many have dexterity and vision problems that make even simple tasks difficult. We seem to forget that not everyone is capable of figuring out a Rubik’s cube. Yet we throw incredibly complex miniature nebulizer technology at our patients and expect them to figure out these high-tech devices. How can these issues be addressed?
At Revlis we came up with a system that is easier for both the patient and the dealer. We introduced the first maintenance-free compressor on the market, as well as the first reusable circuit that doesn’t need to be disassembled in order to add medication. We are also the first company to offer our instructions for use in extra-large print. Granted, individually these may not seem like giant steps, but on the whole, we are making it easier. What is the benefit of including a disposable and reusable nebulizer in one package?
We do it for several reasons. First, it offers the patient a choice as to which type they prefer. Not every patient wants disposables sent every month, and not every patient wants to wait 6 months to get a new neb cup. Second, as a dealer you know you have a backup in the box in case something happens to one of the neb cups. The idea behind this, like our maintenance-free compressor, was to help cut down on the number of service calls that the home care company has to deal with. Revlis gives the patient and the dealer the peace of mind of knowing that there is a backup circuit in every box. Last, the reimbursement by some insurers for the backup reusable neb cup can help to offset the cost of our already competitively priced compressor. |
Invacare Wins Fortune 40 Listing, Signs Acquisition Agreement
In its 2004 Retirement Guide, Fortune magazine chose Invacare Corp, Elyria, Ohio, to be included in its listing of “Fortune 40,” the magazine’s annual model portfolio of domestic and international investment picks. In August, Invacare signed a definitive agreement to purchase WP Domus GmbH, a European-based holding company that designs and manufactures several complementary product lines, including power add-on products, bath lifts, and walking aids.
Fortune describes the Fortune 40 as its “best investment ideas for the year ahead.” Invacare is one of 18 small- and mid-cap stocks to make the list, which also includes large cap stocks, international stocks, and a fixed-income fund. Invacare made the list at least in part because its products, home and long-term medical care equipment, target an older consumer audience, which is growing in number as the Baby Boomer generation ages.
For the past 2 years, the Fortune 40 has beat the market, according to the magazine. From May 2003 to June 2004, Fortune’s picks returned 25.8% compared with the S&P 500’s gain of 21.5% in the same period. Of the 2003 Fortune 40 picks, 93% are in the black, while 15 of the 40 returned more than 30%, Fortune said.
Pending German and Norwegian regulatory approvals, Invacare will purchase Domus for 190 million euros or approximately $230 million at recent exchange rates. Invacare Chairman and CEO A. Malachi Mixon III says he expects the acquisition to add between 25 cents and 30 cents to the company’s 2005 earnings [per share]. “However, due to the timing of regulatory approval, we expect minimal addition to [earnings per share] in 2004,” Mixon says. “We estimate that the acquisition will take the company’s debt-to-total-capitalization to approximately 40%.”
CHAD Reports Improved Fiscal Results
For the first quarter of fiscal 2005, CHAD Therapeutics experienced its best quarterly revenue performance in 7 years, according to CHAD CEO and President Earl L. Yager, who says the results were driven by increased sales of the company’s OXYMATIC® 400 Series electronic conservers and CYPRESS™ OXYPneumatic® conservers.
For the 3 months ended June 30, 2004, revenue for the Chatsworth, Calif-based company increased 8% to $6,099,000 from $5,669,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2004. Net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2005 increased 17% to $262,000, or $0.02 per diluted share. This compares to net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 of $224,000, or $0.02 per diluted share.
At June 30, 2004, CHAD had no long-term debt and cash of $3,475,000, or 26% of total assets. At March 31, 2004, cash was $2,708,000.
Yager expects the company to make continued progress in the conserver market and in the sleep disorder market with products CHAD is developing under licenses acquired in 2003, and possibly in sales of its Total O2® home oxygen filling system. As a result, Yager said the company had updated its net earnings guidance for fiscal 2005.
“If current sales and expense trends continue, we currently expect CHAD to generate net earnings of between $2,500,000 and $2,700,000, or $0.24 to $0.26 per diluted share, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2005,” Yager says. This compares with management’s previous expectation for fiscal 2005 of net earnings of between $1,900,000 and $2,100,000, or $0.18 to $0.20 per diluted share. For fiscal 2004, CHAD reported net earnings of $1,001,000, or $0.10 per diluted share.
Hudson RCI joins the Teleflex Family
Teleflex Medical of Limerick, Pa, has acquired Hudson RCI, based in Temecula, Calif, and all of its product lines. A $500 million division of Teleflex Inc, Teleflex Medical has been a global supplier of products and services for surgery, anesthesia, and urology since 1989. Other Teleflex Medical brands include Rusch, Pilling, Weck, KMedic, Beere, Deknatel and CVevolutions. Hudson RCI was recently awarded a 2-year contract by The MED Group of Lubbock, Tex, to provide respiratory therapy and related products to its membership. This non-acute care contract includes oxygen delivery disposables, prefilled nebulizer supplies, humidification devices, prefilled unit dose solutions, heat moisture exchangers, connectors, and filters.
In Brief - In May, CareFore Medical Inc transacted a change in ownership. Sean C. Squire, who founded the Olathe, Kan-based company with Pamela Squire in 1996, acquired 100% of the company’s stock. Squire’s former business partner and the corporation’s only other stockholder, L. Robert Mogue, the former executive vice president, sales and marketing, is now consulting with the company in sales, marketing, and quality systems. Carefore develops, manufactures, and distributes respiratory accessories to the worldwide home health care and hospital market.
- Jack C. Fehrenback has been promoted to the position of vice president of sales at East Brunswick, NJ-based Humanicare International Inc, a manufacturer of adult incontinence products sold under the Dignity® brand. Fehrenback joined the company in 1995 as director of sales and now has 33 years of sales and management experience in the consumer goods industry.
- Bringing nearly 10 years of clinical experience, Dan Eilerman, PT, has joined VARILITE, a Seattle-based manufacturer and marketerof lightweight,user-friendly postural-support systems for wheelchair users. As clinical education specialist, Eilerman will be responsible for showing therapists, dealers, and end users how to use the company’s seating and positioning products for effective clinical results. In addition, Eilerman will provide clinical guidance on new-product development, and he will co-facilitate clinical education programs.
|
Resources
