“This transaction brings together the strength and experience of two great companies,” says David Wenstrup, a Warburg Pincus managing director. “Both companies have built leadership positions in their markets through a commitment to excellence in patient care and in developing strong relationships with health care professionals, which is clearly the most effective way to market health care services.”

CCS Medical’s combined sales force now includes more than 180 professionals, making it the largest in the industry, according to company statements. The sales force remains focused on developing and maintaining referral relationships with physicians, diabetes educators, and other health care professionals. “Our unique ability to assist health care professionals as they seek to provide high quality care and a dedication to customer service will enable us to become the leading home-delivery company of diabetes and other medical supplies,” says Joe Capper, who is now CEO and president of the combined CCS Medical organization.

CCS Medical provides patients with a comprehensive portfolio of diabetic, insulin pump, wound care, urological, ostomy, incontinence and respiratory supplies, and prescription medications. The company’s diversified product offering and its reimbursement expertise in the Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance markets position the company to serve a large and growing market of patients suffering from diabetes and other chronic conditions.

“The combination of these two, market-leading companies creates a unique platform that is focused on key trends in the delivery of health care services,” says Howard Deutsch, former chairman and CEO of MP TotalCare, and new executive chairman of CCS Medical. “The continued rapid growth of chronic conditions in the United States, especially diabetes, coupled with demographic trends and the increasing preference of mail-order fulfillment, make CCS Medical’s combined scale, expertise, and product breadth a powerful platform for future growth.”

Matt Mullarkey

The award, presented by TBM Consulting Group, recognized the company’s Florida operations because of the company’s outstanding productivity results, which has brought about business agility, growth, and profitability.

“The success of our lean manufacturing operations in Florida is something that Invacare wants to replicate globally,” says Matthew Mullarkey, vice president of global operations for Invacare. “We are proud of the achievements of our Florida team and have used groups from these facilities to establish lean manufacturing in our operations in Asia.” Invacare’s Florida Operations, which manufacture medical beds and respiratory equipment, began their lean manufacturing journey in 2001.

(left to right): C. Taney Hamill, CEO of the WBL Foundation; Susan Morris, vice president, Reimbursement, Policy and Compliance, KCI, and Marcia Nusgart, executive director of the Coalitions for Enteral Nutrition Manufacturers, Respiratory Care Manufacturers, Wheelchair Seating Manufacturers, and Wound Care Manufacturers.

WBL Holds Reception
The Women Business Leaders (WBL) of the US Health Care Industry Foundation held a reception sponsored by KCI, Sunrise Medical, Apria, Inogen, and WBL advisory board member Marcia Nusgart at Medtrade Atlanta. WBL aims to increase networking among senior executive women in the health care industry and boost the number of women on corporate boards. For more information, visit www.womenleadinghealthcare.org.

(left to right) Werner Gutmann, president and CEO, PARI Respiratory Equipment Inc; and Stephen M. Mohan, vice president, business development, Frost & Sullivan.

PARI Recognized with Frost & Sullivan Award
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, The US Nebulizer Markets, selected PARI Respiratory Equipment Inc, Midlothian, Va, as the recipient of the 2005 Product Differentiation Innovation Award for the innovative PARI TREK® compressor nebulizer system. “The product not only provides a quick and efficient aerosol treatment but it offers the unique benefit of being portable since it operates on three power options—worldwide AC (110-240 volts), rechargeable battery, and 12V DC,” says Susan Verille, vice president of sales for PARI. Each year, this award is given to a company that has best demonstrated the ability to develop and/or advance products with more innovative capabilities than competing vendors. “PARI’s global presence provides a valuable insight into patient perceptions and needs, maintaining a perfect balance between clinical research and medical device development,” says Frost & Sullivan industry manager Amit Bohora.

John L. Miclot

Respironics Receives 510(k) Clearance From FDA for I-neb™ AAD® System
The FDA has granted 510(k) clearance of the I-neb Adaptive Aerosol Delivery (AAD) System from Respironics, Murrysville, Pa, for the aerosolization of liquid medication approved for use with the I-neb AAD System. The device is cleared for use by the patient in the home care, nursing home, sub-acute institution, or hospital environment. Respironics’ AAD technology is an intelligent inhalation technology that continually monitors and automatically adapts to an individual patient’s breathing pattern to deliver a precise medication dose during the patient’s inhalation phase. The I-neb device also provides audible and visual feedback to the patient, informing them that the treatment is complete. “This FDA clearance is an important milestone for our Respiratory Drug Delivery business,” says John L. Miclot, president and CEO of Respironics. “We believe this new device will enhance our ability to offer unique solutions to deliver drugs via the respiratory pathway. Strategically, we will continue to focus on developing these types of opportunities to improve treatments and outcomes for sleep and respiratory impaired patients.”

The first application of the I-neb device in the US will be at the end of the year through CoTherix Inc, a South San Francisco-based biopharmaceutical company.

FlexiFit™ 406 Petite Nasal Mask

Fisher & Paykel Expands Mask Range
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Inc, Laguna Hills, Calif, continues to expand the range and application of its respiratory masks with the introduction of a new mask model. Introduced at the fall 2005 Medtrade exposition, the FlexiFit™ 406 Petite Nasal Mask, is designed to meet the needs of finer featured patients who the company believes are not currently well catered for in the OSA market. “The FlexiFit 406 Petite will extend the application of our popular nasal mask range to patients who prefer a very small mask. We believe this addition to our range of masks will contribute to a continuation of strong revenue growth and market share gains in our OSA product group,” says Michael Daniell, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s CEO.

MED Joins with Meridian Healthcare
With the goal of providing MED members with flexible financing solutions, The MED Group, Lubbock, Tex, and Meridian Healthcare Finance, San Diego, a specialist lender to small and mid-sized health care providers, have formed a strategic partnership. Through this partnership, Meridian will provide working and acquisition capital to The MED Group’s membership base. “We are pleased that Meridian and MED have created this partnership. Our members face many challenges looking forward, and we see this as a quality solution in the financing area,” says Jeff Woodham, senior vice president of operations with The MED Group. Meridian, founded in 1997, is a leading lender to health care companies with revenue up to $50 million.

CareCentric Teams With ProviderLink™
ProviderLink Inc, Cary, NC, a health care IT communications company, has been selected as the technology provider for the CareCentric, Atlanta, CMN Communication Manager. The integrated solution will enable HME companies to manage physician signature collection through a single interface. Both electronic and faxed-back physician signatures can now be collected and managed through this paperless solution regardless of how they are received.