A Medical Device Daily

Cardiac Science (Bothell, Washington) entered into an exclusive agreement with Omron Healthcare (Bannockburn, Illinois) distribute Omron's vital signs and spot check monitors under the Cardiac Science brand in the U.S. and Canada.

"This deal leverages our industry-leading distribution capabilities. Omron is an outstanding company with an excellent reputation for quality," said Dave Marver, Cardiac Science's president/CEO. "They are an ideal partner to help us enter the North American vital signs market."

"When we looked to expand our U.S. based sales into the diagnostic market for healthcare professionals," said Bob Kondraske, chief operating officer for Omron Healthcare, "we needed a partner with deep industry knowledge and solid distribution. Cardiac Science is a leader in ECG, Holter, cardiac stress, and automated external defibrillation sales into the physician office. In addition, they have a strong direct sales force in the hospital market. They've demonstrated their commitment and skill selling into both marketplaces which is exactly what we needed."

Vital signs monitors sold under the exclusive agreement are available for sale next Monday under the Cardiac Science name, while clearly featuring the accuracy of the Omron technology. "This allows customers to recognize the strengths of both brands, and know they're purchasing from a partnership comprising two world leaders," Kondraske added.

In other agreements/contracts news:

• The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC; Oakbrook, Illinois) reported that it has awarded a three-year agreement to RGIS (Auburn Hills, Michigan), for inventory counting services. The agreement, which has two automatic one-year renewal periods, became effective on Sept. 1, 2009. RGIS provides inventory counting services for all areas within hospitals, including pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, materials, equipment, and central supply.

• Roche NimbleGen (Madison, Wisconsin) and High Throughput Genomics (HTG; Tucson, Arizona), a provider of the quantitative nuclease protection assay (qNPA), have entered into a supply agreement. Under the agreement, Roche NimbleGen will provide HTG with high density, multiplex DNA microarray slides for advanced gene expression analysis. HTG will apply the company's qNPA process to the microarrays to enable researchers to quickly and efficiently measure the gene expression levels in a variety of sample types. The agreement enhances HTG's existing service capability offering with the ability to take a broader look at gene expression through the multiplex capability of the Roche NimbleGen microarrays.