Advanced Sterilization Products, an Irvine-based unit of Johnson & Johnson, has bought a European company as part of its bid to fight infections in hospitals.
In November, ASP said its French affiliate bought Gloster Europe, a company that makes devices that help reduce the spread of infections in healthcare facilities. Terms of the buy weren’t disclosed.
Gloster, which was started in 1999, makes portable disinfection and decontamination devices used in hospital patient rooms and operating rooms.
The devices, sold under the Sterinis brand, spray a dry mist of hydrogen peroxide on surfaces.
ASP makes devices and solutions for sterilizing medical instruments.
Buying Gloster adds to ASP’s lineup of products, including devices for sterilizing surgical instruments, said Chuck Austin, the company’s worldwide president.
Gloster’s devices are sold in Europe, the Middle East and some African and Asian countries. ASP plans to market the company’s devices in the U.S.
Infections are a big concern for hospitals and other healthcare providers. What are called “healthcare-acquired infections” occur in about 5% of hospital patients, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In developing countries, about 15% of patients are infected, the CDC said.
According to ASP, Gloster’s devices have gotten scientific nods for being effective against germs and bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile, which are known as “superbugs.”
ASP is a relatively small part of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, which makes medical devices, drugs and consumer products and counts $64 billion in yearly sales.
The business is part of Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Inc. division, which had $3 billion in sales through the first nine months of 2009.
ASP’s products include Sterrad, a line of sterilizers that uses hydrogen peroxide gas plasma to purify medical devices, and Cidex, a line of disinfecting solutions.
It has about 350 workers in Irvine.
Big Market
The company is in a large market. The domestic sterilization equipment market is projected to be $1.1 billion in 2010, according to market tracker Business Communication Co. of Wellesley, Mass.
ASP rivals include Steris Corp. of Mentor, Ohio, Minneapolis-based 3M Corp., which makes sterilization machines and disinfectants, and Microtek Medical, part of Ecolab Inc. of St. Paul, Minn.
Earlier this decade, ASP said it had grown because hospitals were looking away from using ethylene oxide, which can be toxic, or steam, which can damage devices, for their sterilization needs.
Most of ASP’s products are sold to hospitals, although it also sells to surgical centers and works with hospital purchasing groups such as Novation LLC of suburban Dallas and Premier Inc. of Charlotte, N.C.
SoCal Operations
ASP is one of several Johnson & Johnson units based in Southern California. Others include Neutrogena Corp. in Los Angeles and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development LLC in La Jolla. Biosense Webster Inc., a catheter maker, is just over the county line in Diamond Bar.
ASP operates out of a 111,611-square-foot complex on Technology Drive in the Irvine Spectrum. That office houses corporate operations, manufacturing, sales and marketing, research and development, training and service and human resources.
The roots of ASP date back to the late 1980s, when researchers developed dry, low-temperature gas plasma technology to sterilize medical devices.
The first Sterrad system was installed in Germany’s Hospital Bremervorde in 1992. U.S. regulators cleared Sterrad for use here a year later.
