Posts from — September 2006

Clients from the UK should no longer call me saying they want to restructure their organization with some young energetic new blood. They would be breaking this new law. Suits me - forces the client to really think through what they really need.

British government defends new anti-ageist law - Yahoo! News

Invacare announced today that they were consolidating their sales organizations in the second largest homecare market in the world - Germany.

The new organization will be known as Invacare Aquatec.

Following the acquisition 2 years ago of Domus, the Aquatec and Invacare organizations in Germany had remained in separate locations (one in the north and one in the south). Standard Invacare homecare products moved to Aquatec shortly after the acquisition - but now the original Invacare Company (save for some power wheelchair manufacturing and a few functions) is being moved to the Aquatec headquarters in Isny (near Munich). Isny of course is home to the worlds leading bathlift companies.

There will no doubt be savings including a headcount reduction.

To readers of this blog this will be no surprise as the German market continues like most of the world to cut deeply into reimbursement benefits.

By the way it seems to me that centralizing the sales and marketing activities could also bring some customer benefits…

You may want to read the recent related posts:

German Homecare Market - An Insiders Perspective - Adrian Thyssen

Who Is My Customer? - a Story of Achievement in Germany - Adrian Thyssen

The debate continues
Oxygen equipment costs fuel debate in Ohio
Medicare could buy almost 13 home oxygen machines for what it pays to rent one, according to a federal investigation.

Times Leader | 09/15/2006 | New Medicare wheelchair plan could hurt Pride

Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators and two local congressmen want to delay new, stricter Medicare policies they say might deny the elderly and disabled access to power wheelchairs. The new policies could also hurt wheelchair manufacturer Pride Mobility Products Corp., one of Luzerne County’s largest employers and the source of more than $57,000 in campaign cash for the four federal legislators.

Pride is not the only company hurting.

In related news with the upcoming Medtrade - Mal Mixon - Invacare CEO, in one of the pre show promotional emails says

The Rehab industry faces unique challenges in this new world of reimbursement changes. With ongoing cuts in reimbursement, 64 new wheelchair codes still without pricing, and competitive bidding on the horizon, Rehab providers are faced with a difficult question: How can I continue to provide clinical efficacy, yet at the same time maintain my bottom line?

Invacare will be introducing new power wheelchair electronics according to the statement.

Sunrise Medical will also be introducing their new Groove Power line.

Permobil - innovative Scandinavian company is promising to introduce its “Evolution” and goes on to discuss the impact of reimbursement changes.

Bottom line is despite / or as a result of the reimbursement changes - the industry is putting out strong messages of new products and innovations. Let’s hope both that both shareholders and consumers are going to benefit equitably.

The FDA issued a statement September 14, 2006 following the controversy from papers presented at the presented at the March 2006 American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in Atlanta GA - (Basket-Late study) and more recently the Sept 2006 European Society of Cardiology Annual Meeting/World Congress of Cardiology Meeting in Barcelona Spain - (the Camenzind meta-analysis).

FDA Statement on Coronary Drug-Eluting Stents

At this time, FDA believes that coronary drug-eluting stents remain safe and effective when used for the FDA-approved indications. These devices have significantly reduced the need for a second surgery to treat restenosis for thousands of patients each year.

This was the conclusion of the statement however the FDA is working closely with the two manufacturers - read Boston Scientific and Johnson and Johnson to monitor long term clinical studies and will soon hold a public panel on the subject.

See related posts:

Do Drug Eluding Stents DES increase Deaths

NEJM — Sirolimus-Eluting versus Uncoated Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction

The stent debate continues.
NEJM — Sirolimus-Eluting versus Uncoated Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction
Background Sirolimus-eluting stents reduce rates of restenosis and reintervention, as compared with uncoated stents. Data are limited regarding the safety and efficacy of such stents in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute myocardial infarction with ST-segment elevation.

This The Red Hot Market for Medical Devices in China - SeekingAlpha is an excellent article from Evelyn Rubin which reviews the IPO filing by Mindray - a medical device manufacturer with a substantial China presence.

The filing contains a host of useful information on the Chinese medical products market.