A Lazard Capital Markets LLC analyst says Masimo Corp.’s new hemoglobin monitoring system could pay off for the Irvine medical device maker.
With the device, doctors can continuously monitor hemoglobin, which carries oxygen, without drawing blood. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the device, which is part of Masimo’s Rainbow SET platform line, and Masimo has rolled it out on a limited basis.
“We believe this technology has the potential to change medicine,” said Sean Lavin, a Lazard analyst, in a note to clients.
Masimo’s device allows doctors and other clinicians to receive non-invasive and continuous hemoglobin measurements within seconds, Lavin wrote. Traditionally, hemoglobin monitoring has required multiple steps, including blood collection, transferring samples to labs, analysis and reporting of the results.
Continuous hemoglobin monitoring is especially important for patients who are prone to blood loss, such as those in trauma wards and operating rooms, according to the company.
Lavin pegged continuous hemoglobin monitoring as a $1 billion market opportunity in the U.S. alone. More than 350 million invasive hemoglobin tests are administered domestically each year, he wrote.
A doctor survey pointed toward eventual widespread adoption of Masimo’s device because nearly 90% of neonatologists, surgeons, cardiac surgeons and anesthesiologists who responded indicated they saw some use for non-invasive hemoglobin monitoring, Lavin said in his note.
Continuous hemoglobin monitoring, according to Lavin, should drive sales of Masimo’s Rainbow SET business to $450 million by 2012. Rainbow SET accounted for $6.1 million of sales in 2007.
Masimo also received regulatory clearance for disposable adhesive sensors that can continuously monitor a patient’s hemoglobin and oxygen content, the company said.
Ovarian Cancer Drug
A University of California, Irvine, professor has found that women who have recurrent ovarian cancer can be helped by an experimental drug that’s already noted for its ability to fight other cancers.
Trabectedin, which is sold by Johnson & Johnson and Zeltia SA, a Spanish drug maker, is the most recent addition to a short list of active drugs for recurrent ovarian cancer, said Bradley Monk, a gynecologic oncologist and associate professor at the university’s Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Monk and an international group of researchers treated 672 women whose ovarian cancer had progressed after first-line treatment. The study showed that patients who received a mix of trabectedin, which is sold in Europe under the Yondelis brand name, and a chemotherapy drug, went longer without progression of the cancer than those who received a chemotherapy drug alone.
Positive drug trials in recurrent ovarian cancer “are rare and have almost always led to federally approved treatments,” Monk said.
The Chao center is named for the family of Allen Chao, an OC resident who founded Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drug maker that’s based just over the county line in Corona.
BPO Buys Healthaxis
BPO Management Services Inc., an Anaheim business outsourcing company that trades on the Bulletin Board exchange, said earlier this month that it’s buying Healthaxis Inc. of Irving, Texas.
Healthaxis is a technology company that caters to health benefits administrators and claims processors. BPO intends to turn Healthaxis into its healthcare division, which will cater to small and midsize businesses looking to outsource health insurance administration.
BPO declined to provide an exact purchase price. The deal calls for shares of BPO’s common stock to be exchanged for a portion of Healthaxis’ common stock shares, which were valued at almost double BPO shares when the deal was announced.
When the deal’s complete, BPO shareholders will have an 80% interest in the new company, with Healthaxis shareholders retaining the remaining 20%. The public company will retain the BPO name.
The combined company is expected to generate annual sales of $50 million.
Bits and Pieces:
Nobel Biocare USA Inc., a dental implant company in Yorba Linda, said it was receiving $2 million from Keystone Dental Inc. of Burlington, Mass., to settle a lawsuit. Nobel had sued Keystone in late 2007 on allegations that Keystone “systematically targeted and hired” Nobel’s business and sales force. The deal also prevents Keystone, which is owned by Warburg Pincus LLC, from hiring or soliciting current Nobel workers through next Feb. 1 CoreValve Inc., an Irvine cardiovascular device maker, presented data from a clinical evaluation of its ReValving system in Australia and New Zealand at the annual European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery conference in Portugal. ReValving is a catheter and a self-expanding tissue heart valve that’s designed and engineered to be implanted in a patient’s heart without major surgery Amerita Inc., an Irvine-based provider of specialty drug infusion services, said it’s been accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.
