It’s “safe to go back into the water” with Brea-based medical testing company Beckman Coulter Inc., according to an analyst.
Amit Hazan of New York-based Gleacher & Co. Securities Inc. said in a report initiating coverage of Beckman that risks from the company’s earlier recall of a profitable heart disease test “now appear well reflected in estimates.”
Beckman revised its profit outlook in April after it had to recall the test, which detects levels of troponin, a protein released in the blood after heart damage.
The company made the move after the Food and Drug Administration said changes to the test were made without prior clearance from regulators.
The company previously said dealing with troponin issues could shave $10.7 million to $17.8 million off its 2010 earnings. Beckman expects full-year profits of $307 million to $321 million, down from a previous outlook of $314 million to $324 million.
Beckman has said it plans to run a new clinical study and submit separate regulatory applications for the test on its DxI and Access testing machines in 2011.
Troponin “is a U.S. issue—lasting until mid-2011—and we do expect segment growth to slow as a result,” Hazan said.
“But considering the (long-term) nature of contracts and our survey work, the impact now looks reflected in estimates,” he wrote.
As part of Hazan’s report, the analyst and his team surveyed more than 50 hospital laboratory directors, including 10 who use Beckman testing machines.
Seven of the 10 Beckman customers surveyed said they likely would or definitely would renew their contracts, according to Hazan.
“This is actually not far from normal retention rates, and thus also a positive,” he said.
Among the wider survey group, 81% of respondents said they likely would not or definitely would not buy specific chemical testing equipment if troponin testing wasn’t available.
Potential damage from the troponin recall can be controlled because the approval is manufacturing-related, according to Hazan.
“But it is critically important for (Beckman) to close the loop on this issue as quickly as possible,” he said.
The analyst called Beckman’s discussions with the FDA and progress on troponin “a positive in this light.”
Hazan also touched on how Beckman’s $800 billion buy of Olympus Corp.’s lab-based diagnostic business last year is progressing.
Cost savings already have been realized, Hazan wrote. The greater benefit of the deal “should now come from sales,” particularly cross-selling Beckman’s immunoassay testing machines to Olympus’ international customers, he said.
Hazan did acknowledge that currency exchange rates are a concern for Beckman because more than half its revenue comes from outside the U.S., “but existing hedges greatly mitigate risk here.”
Medical Office Deals
The healthcare unit of Santa Ana-based Grubb & Ellis Co. has bought two more medical office buildings.
A Grubb healthcare real estate fund bought the St. Vincent Medical Office Building in Cleveland in late June.
In a federal filing, Grubb & Ellis said it paid $10 million for the building.
St. Vincent has three stories and 51,000 square feet of space. It is on the campus of the 480-bed St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.
The building, constructed in 1984, is 92% full with multiple tenants, according to Grubb.
St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is the main tenant.
Grubb’s healthcare unit also acquired Livingston Medical Arts Pavilion, a two-story medical office building in Livingston, Texas.
A federal filing shows that Grubb & Ellis paid $6.3 million for it.
Livingston Medical Arts Pavilion is next to the Memorial Medical Center, a 66-bed hospital that specializes in critical care and women’s healthcare. The building is 100% full with multiple tenants, including Memorial Health System of East Texas.
Grubb’s healthcare unit buys hospital buildings, medical offices, assisted living facilities and nursing homes as well as other buildings with medical-related tenants.
Bits and Pieces
Scott Verner, a former official at Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc., is the new president of Nipro Diagnostics Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Verner was involved in Allergan’s 2002 spinoff of what now is Santa Ana-based Abbott Medical Optics Inc. … Capario Inc., a Santa Ana-based healthcare information technology company, said it signed a deal with Healthpac Computer Systems Inc. of Savannah, Ga. The deal allows Healthpac’s customers access to Capario’s network of more than 4,000 insurers and other payers and automate their billing and follow-up processes … Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley said its emergency department now has a cardiac receiving center designation from the Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency. With the designation, patients suffering acute heart attacks will be directed to the hospital’s emergency department … Fountain Valley optometrists Harvey and Alan Goldstone opened what they call the county’s first “high-definition vision center.” The doctors said they are using customized replacement eyeglass lenses made by Ophthonix Inc., a venture-backed company from San Diego.
