A subsidiary of ITC
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A subsidiary of ITC |
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PLEASANTON, CA, October 3, 2006 - Thoratec Corporation (NASDAQ:THOR), a world leader in products to treat cardiovascular disease, said today that its International Technidyne Corporation (ITC) division acquired A-VOX Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of point-of-care (POC) instruments and disposables to perform CO-Oximetry testing. Under the terms of the purchase agreement, ITC has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Avox for approximately $9 million in cash. Privately held AVOX is based in San Antonio, Texas, and has become a subsidiary of ITC. Thoratec said this transaction is not expected to have a material impact on its 2006 financial results, but that it expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings beginning in 2007. "This transaction is an important event for ITC as it broadens our offerings for hospital POC testing, particularly in the cardiac catheterization lab where AVOX has an industry-leading presence,” said Gary F. Burbach, president and chief executive officer of Thoratec. “This acquisition is indicative of both our commitment to the POC market and strategy to increase ITC’s presence in it,” he continued. AVOX manufactures two devices that utilize patented light-scattering technology to make direct measurements in whole blood. The AVOXimeter® 1000E is specifically designed for the cardiac catheterization lab, and is the leading stand-alone POC oximeter in U.S. hospitals today. The portable AVOXimeter 4000 provides a fast, accurate assessment of a patient’s oxygenation at the bedside. The AVOXimeter 4000 is used in routine testing in combination with a blood gas analyzer to provide a more comprehensive and complete assessment of a patient’s oxygenation status in the intensive care unit (ICU), operating room (OR) and other critical care situations. It is also used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to confirm nitric oxide treatment side effects in newborns and in the emergency department to diagnose smoke inhalation. “Acquiring the Avox product line strengthens the position ITC has built in the hospital POC sector through our HEMOCHRON® Signature offering. In addition, we will be able to utilize idms, our proprietary data management software, to offer our IRMA TRUpoint® lood gas analyzer, HEMOCHRON® Signature and the AVOXimeter 4000 as a unique and cost effective modular system that provides a comprehensive and complete solution for our customers,” noted Larry Cohen, president of ITC. Cohen added that this transaction will leverage ITC’s sales efforts among current customer call points, including the catheterization lab, OR, ICU and NICU. Under the agreement, AVOX's three founders will remain as consultants or employees during the transition period. ITC plans to continue manufacturing the Avox devices at the existing facility in San Antonio, with a consolidation of those activities into ITC’s Edison, New Jersey manufacturing facility occurring during 2007. "We are delighted to have ITC acquire AVOX,” said Dr. Pete Shepherd, founder and president of AVOX. “We know that ITC’s POC focus, combined with their product development and distribution strengths, will allow Avox products and technology to build on their established market leadership positions. I look forward to working with the ITC team to ensure a smooth transition,” he added. International Technidyne Corporation (ITC) is a world leader in the fields of hemostasis management and point-of-care testing with over 35 years of knowledge and experience. ITC develops, manufactures and markets products in five distinct categories: HEMOCHRON point-of-care coagulation instruments and reagents; IRMA TRUpoint Blood Analysis System for blood gas and electrolyte testing; skin incision products including tenderfoot® Tenderlett® and Surgicutt® Hgb Pro Professional Hemoglobin Testing System® and the ProTime® Microcoagulation System for prothrombin time testing at home and for professional use. ITC is a subsidiary of Thoratec Corporation, a world leader in therapies to address advanced stage heart failure. The company’s product line includes the Thoratec® VAD (Ventricular Assist Device) and HeartMate® LVAS (Left Ventricular Assist System) with more than 10,000 devices implanted in patients suffering from heart failure. Thoratec is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. For more information, visit the company’s web sites at http://www.thoratec.com or http://www.itcmed.com.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, July 15, 2004 - AVOX Systems, Inc., officially released new software with enhanced data management features for the AVOXimeter 1000E Cath Lab Oximeter. The AVOXimeter measures oxyhemoglobin saturation and total hemoglobin in less than 10 seconds and stores the readings in nonvolatile memory. Each blood sample is automatically given a sample number and a time-date stamp. The new software makes regulatory compliance easier by providing functions that include mandatory or optional patient and user ID numbers, QC lockout, labels to distinguish QC readings from patient data, and a list of users authorized by the quality-assurance manager. A serial port and ASTM output enable interfacing to HIS/LIS or to a PC. Upgrade paths available to AVOXimeter 1000E users include kits for installation by the user or factory-installed EPROMs. Oximeters purchased after January 1, 2004, qualify for free upgrades. For more information email the company (upgrades@avoxsystems.com).
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, January 1, 2004 - AVOX Systems Inc., announced today that it has terminated its sales promotion agreement with Abbott Laboratories. Under the agreement that ended on December 31, 2003, Abbott had sold AVOX's unique portable co-oximeter, the AVOXimeter 4000, in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., AVOX continues to sell the AVOXimeter 4000 factory direct. In addition, a private-label version of the AVOXimeter 4000, the GEM®OPLTM*, continues to be available from Instrumentation Laboratory of Lexington, MA. The GEM® OPLTM is currently sold worldwide. AVOX Systems is now seeking foreign and domestic distributors to market the AVOXimeter 4000. Additional information is available at the company's website, http://www.avoxsystems.com. *GEM® and OPLTM are trademarks of Instrumentation Laboratory.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, January 31, 2001 - AVOX Systems, Inc., announced today that it has signed a sales promotion agreement with Abbott Laboratories. Under the agreement Abbott will sell the AVOXimeter 4000 in the U.S. and Canada, The AVOXimeter 4000 is the world‚s first portable co-oximeter, a battery-powered device that, in less than 10 seconds, measures total hemoglobin and the fractional concentrations of individual hemoglobin species such as oxyhemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin. At present, Abbott also distributes the i-STAT, a popular clinical analyzer that is currently used for bedside testing in more than 2,000 hospitals in the United States. The i-STAT‚s measurements include blood gases as well as electrolytes and blood chemistries. According to Dr. A.P. Shepherd, President of AVOX, the AVOXimeter‚s measurements complement the blood gases and electrolytes measured by the i-STAT and provide a more complete picture of a patient‚s oxygen transport status in many different clinical situations such as surgical blood loss, anemia, and carbon monoxide poisoning. AVOX Systems is a small, closely held company that uses its patented light-scattering technology to manufacture in vitro diagnostic devices for various clinical markets including cardiology, intensive care, and emergency medicine.
SAN ANTONIO, TX, April
20, 2001 - AVOX Systems, Inc., announced that it has signed an agreement with
Instrumentation Laboratory of Lexington, MA. Under the agreement AVOX will provide
IL a private-label version of its portable co-oximeter, the AVOXimeter 4000. The
product has been released in the U.S. and is called GEM® OPL™, short for Oxygenation
Portable Laboratory*. The substances measured by the battery-powered device include
total hemoglobin and the fractional concentrations of individual hemoglobin species
such as oxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, and carboxyhemoglobin. These measurements
complement the blood gases and electrolytes measured by IL's other products and
provide a more complete picture of a patient's oxygen transport status in many
different clinical situations such as surgical blood loss, anemia, and carbon
monoxide poisoning. SAN ANTONIO, TX, April 15, 1999 - AVOX Systems, Inc., announced today that it has successfully interfaced its AVOXimeter 1000E Cath-Lab Oximeter to the hemodynamic computer system manufactured by Prucka Engineering of Houston, TX. For over 50 years cardiologists and the staff in cardiac catheterization labs have diagnosed congenital heart anomalies like atrial septal defects by analyzing blood samples from various locations within the heart and major blood vessels. A "step-up" in oxygen levels between two adjacent sites indicates that arterial blood is entering the right side of the heart through a shunt caused by the suspected defect. This diagnostic procedure often requires analyzing 12 to 20 blood samples. Until now, the cath lab staff has analyzed the blood samples on an oximeter, written the results on a piece of paper, and handed the paper to the computer operator who had to type the data into the computer. Not surprisingly, transcription errors were a problem. Furthermore, the oximeter's readings and the computer's calculations of shunt flow and other diagnostic data were not available to the cardiologist until after the entire procedure was over. Using the new interface and the AVOXimeter's user-friendly menus, the cath lab staff can now label each blood sample with the anatomical site from which it was drawn. The oximeter then analyzes the sample in less than 10 seconds and sends the results electronically to Prucka's computer system. "We are very pleased that our collaboration with Prucka Engineering has paid off in this way," said A.P. Shepherd, AVOX Systems' President. "Our customers will find this new approach is not only faster and easier but also less prone to human error. The more timely availability of the oximetry data as well as the hemodynamic calculations should help the cardiologists reach a definitive diagnosis." Avox Systems is a small, closely held company that manufactures analytical instruments for various clinical markets including cardiology, intensive care, and emergency medicine. Additional information is available at the company's website, http://www.avoxsystems.com.
Year 2000 Statements Definition. According to the US FDA, "Year 2000 compliant means, with respect to medical devices and scientific laboratory equipment, that the product accurately processes and stores date/time data (including, but not limited to calculating, comparing, displaying, recording and sequencing operations involving date/time data) during, from, into and between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the years 1999 and 2000, including correct processing of leap year data." AVOXimeter
1000E contains a time-date chip that is Year 2000 compliant. |
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Last Updated: Wednesday, 17-Jan-2007 12:18:23 EST
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