Business Strategy
AACC's Industry Division
 AACC has an Industry Division to identify and develop synergies between industry and clinical laboratory members who contribute to the healthcare system, and enhance patient care and focus on issues relevant to industries that serve the clinical laboratory. To learn more about the Industry Division and its goals, IVD Technology editor Richard Park spoke with Chandra Jain, chair, AACC Industry Division (Washington, DC). In this interview, Jain talks about who the division includes, what...
AACC’s Industry Division
 AACC has an Industry Division to identify and develop synergies between industry and clinical laboratory members who contribute to the healthcare system, and enhance patient care and focus on issues relevant to industries that serve the clinical laboratory. To learn more about the Industry Division and its goals, IVD Technology editor Richard Park spoke with Chandra Jain, chair, AACC Industry Division (Washington, DC). In this interview, Jain talks about who the division includes,...
Venture Funding for Healthcare Has Uncertain Future
  The first quarter of 2010 saw a 12% increase in venture funding for start-up companies over the previous year, reports the Los Angeles Times, citing a Dow Jones VentureSource report.    According to the Times, one year earlier, investments had “plunged to their lowest level since the late 1990s,” so the 12% increase is remarkable.   Healthcare pulled in $1.2 billion this first quarter, coming in second after information technology, which received $1.5 billion....
Merck Group buys Millipore
Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany) and Millipore Corp. (Billerica, MA) entered into a definitive agreement under which Merck KGaA will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Millipore for $107 per share in cash, or a total transaction value, including net debt, of approximately $7.2 billion. The transaction was approved by the boards of directors of both companies. Millipore and Merck will create a $2.9-billion partner for the life science sector, achieving scale in specialty products...
New venture capital fund established for biotech
A $550-million venture capital fund has been established by OrbiMed Advisors LLC to invest in healthcare technology. The firm is looking to invest across the healthcare market, including diagnostics. “We are very interested in the diagnostic space,” says Carl Gordon, a founding partner at OrbiMed. “Looking forward to our fourth fund, diagnostics is going to be an important element of investment for us.” Gordon says the funds’ investors are also “extremely...
Strong M&A activity expected for IVD industry
 In early January, the Wall Street Journal reported that merger and buyout activity is likely to heat up in the healthcare sector this year as the debate over a national health overhaul winds down. The newspaper added that stronger credit markets could bring more leveraged buyouts, which could bode well for more deals in medical technology. Analysts believe that M&A activity this year in the IVD industry should be robust. “From our perspective, the M&A environment has...
Inverness stays in acquisition mode
 Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. (Waltham, MA) entered into a distribution agreement with Epocal Inc. (Ottawa, Canada) to distribute its epoc Blood Analysis System for blood gas and electrolyte testing. The epoc (enterprise point-of-care) platform is a point-of-care analysis system that provides wireless bedside blood gas and electrolyte measurement testing solutions. Utilizing disposable smart cards, the epoc System produces laboratory quality test results in critical and acute care...
PerkinElmer expands presence in Asia
          PerkinElmer Inc. (Waltham, MA) completed its acquisition of Sym-Bio Lifescience (Shanghai), a provider of diagnostics instruments and related reagents, in a cash transaction equivalent to $63.7 million. The acquisition is expected to have no material impact on PerkinElmer's adjusted earnings per share for 2009 and be slightly accretive in 2010.   “PerkinElmer and Sym-Bio Lifescience are pleased to have the opportunity to introduce new products to...
Abbott, Pfizer work on lung cancer companion diagnostic
          Abbott's molecular diagnostics unit (Des Plaines, IL) is working with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer on developing a molecular diagnostic test to screen non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors for the presence of gene rearrangements. Pfizer has created an investigational therapy, known as PF-02341066, which selectively targets cancer-causing genes implicated in the progress of the cancer in individuals harboring a particular gene rearrangement. Abbott is...
Introduction to consulting services
      IVD manufacturers hire consultants for various reasons. The challenge lies in selecting and making the most effective use of the right consultant. (PHOTO BY ISTOCKPHOTO) The process of bringing a new IVD product or system to market involves many crucial milestones. During product development, it is important not only to optimize the IVD's design, but also to anticipate the many requirements that must be satisfied to allow successful market introduction....