Sybron Gets Dental Telescope, Fiber-Optic Company
Medical Offices Planned for Irvine; Cooper Cos.-Biocompatibles Deal Set to Close
HEALTHCARE
by Vita Reed
Sybron Dental Specialties Inc., the Orange-based dental device and supplies maker, is growing.
Earlier this month, the company’s Kerr Dental unit acquired Surgical Acuity Inc., a privately held Wisconsin maker of dental telescopes and fiber-optic lighting systems.
Terms weren’t disclosed, but the buy is expected to add between $10 million and $15 million in yearly revenue to Kerr, according to Sybron.
Sybron said it is financing the Surgical Acuity buy through a credit line.
Surgical Acuity markets its telescope and lighting systems under the Orascoptic Research brand. Orascoptic Research systems provide magnification and light for various types of dental procedures. Endodontists, cosmetic dentists, orthodontists, periodontists and prosthetic dentists use the devices.
Sybron officials said they plan to retain the managers and staff at Surgical Acuity. The company’s facility in Middleton, Wis., is set to serve as headquarters for the business and continue producing the telescope and lighting systems.
“The use of telescope and lighting systems is quickly becoming the standard of care in the dental industry and is now (used) as part of the training at most dental schools,” said Floyd Pickrell Jr., Sybron’s chief executive, in a release.
Sybron said it is looking to use its pull with dentists, including orthodontists and endodontists, to build up Surgical Acuity’s sales. Sybron believes “there is a largely untapped market for these telescope and lighting systems in international markets,” Pickrell said.
Shares of Sybron, which became a public company in late 2000, counted a market value of $715 million at recent check.
Irvine Getting New Medical Offices
Sterling America LLC recently bought a 16,015-square-foot office building in Irvine from State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. The deal was valued at $3.8 million.
Sterling America plans to convert the building, at 2 Osborn in the Woodbridge section of the city, into space for physicians and dentists. The building is expected to be ready in the next three to five months.
Bryan Ohira of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services’ Irvine Spectrum office represented Sterling America. Chip Wright of CB Richard Ellis Services Inc.’s Newport Beach office represented State Farm.
Hoag Fundraising Marches On
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, received a $2.5 million grant from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Hoag officials said the contribution is going toward a $50 million fundraising effort for its women’s pavilion. So far, the campaign has raised $42 million.
Hoag officials said they would name a new imaging center in honor of the Beckmans. Arnold Beckman, who founded Beckman Instruments Inc., a precursor to Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc., was active at Hoag for more than 30 years. Beckman, now 101, served on the hospital’s board of directors and foundation board.
Besides the imaging center, the grant is going to fund the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Breast Cancer Research Project, which is going to focus on research for new magnetic resonance diagnostic testing and guided therapies.
The project’s long-term objective is to put together a breast cancer detection and treatment process using contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, said Dr. Michael Brant-Zawadzki, Hoag’s medical director of radiology.
Hoag’s women’s pavilion has seven stories and 309,000 square feet of space. It is scheduled to open in 2005 and is set to contain a range of obstetric, gynecological and other health services geared toward women.
Bits and Pieces:
Cooper Cos., Lake Forest, said shareholders of Biocompatibles PLC approved selling the British company’s eye care business to Cooper’s CooperVision unit. The transaction is expected to close on Thursday TriZetto Group Inc., Newport Beach, said it signed a licensing pact with Providence Health Plans, which serves more than 1 million members in Oregon and southern Washington. Providence is receiving TriZetto’s Facets managed care administrative system, HealthWeb Internet platform and HIPAA Gateway electronic transaction product Cardiac Science Inc., Irvine, said it was selected as exclusive supplier of automated external defibrillators to the city of Fort Worth, Texas. Cardiac Science said 80 of the machines, which can rescue people having heart attacks, have been delivered to Fort Worth and Tarrant County, with other deployments expected in coming weeks Med+Link International, Newport Beach, said it created an electronic medical records service that would allow customers to consolidate, store and manage their medical records in one location. Membership in the Med+Link Network includes a smart card that contains personal medical data The Phoenix, a contract research organization with offices in Irvine and Mount Arlington, N.J., said it introduced a new logo, corporate collateral and a redesigned Web site. Phoenix provides its services to clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and biomedical industries Wellness Alliance Network Inc., Irvine, started a series of workshops it says will address issues such as healthcare cost containment, maximizing productivity and reducing absenteeism.
