A Medical Device Daily

Retractable Technologies (Little Elm, Texas), a maker of safety needle devices, said it continues to experience significant barriers against its efforts to establish access for sales of its products. With limited access to capital markets, the company said it has determined that in the interest of the long-term survival of the company, it would reorganize some of its functions, and implement staff reductions, all in order to minimize its cash expenditures and conserve its resources. Retractable reported a number of cost-cutting measures that it says are intended to reduce its cash outlays by $6 million over the next twelve months.

The company said its president/CEO, Thomas Shaw, has waived $1 million in future royalty payments. The 5% royalty that Retractable pays for the exclusive right to manufacture and sell the VanishPoint products was granted for patents that Shaw developed.

Retractable also reduced its workforce by 16% recently and the company said it will reduce the compensation of employees above a certain salary level by 10% effective the beginning of August.

The company is discontinuing its matching of employees' 401(k) contributions effective Aug. 1. Matching contributions were $120,000 last year, Retractable noted.

Retractable also said it plans to reduce inventory levels and cut other expenses. The company has several new products in the "pipeline" that it plans to introduce in the coming year.

Retractable makes safety medical products, principally VanishPoint automated retraction safety syringes and blood collection devices designed to "virtually eliminate healthcare worker exposure to accidental needlestick injuries."