Cardinal Health forms spin-off company

Cardinal Health (Dublin, Ohio) said that it has selected a name for the medical technology company that will be formed through the proposed spinoff of its Clinical and Medical Products businesses.

Cardinal says that the new company will be named CareFusion, reflecting a diverse blend of medical technologies the company will offer to improve the safety and quality of care.

From infusion and medication safety technologies to respiratory equipment, automated medical supply dispensing and infection prevention offerings, CareFusion will be the largest medical technology company with a singular focus on patient safety. The new company expects to trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CFN.

"CareFusion is a name that clearly communicates our ability to bring together technologies that improve patient safety and streamline the care process," said David Schlotterbeck, Cardinal Health vice chairman and future CEO of CareFusion. "Not only will CareFusion be an immediate market leader in medication safety and infection prevention, we will put a substantial emphasis on innovation and clinical differentiation to continue to serve this growing segment of the global healthcare industry."

He added, "Patient safety has always been a moral obligation for hospitals, but with payors creating additional financial incentives to reduce errors, improving safety has become an economic mandate."

CareFusion will be headquartered in San Diego.

Formedic launches new patient forms system

Formedic (Somerset, New Jersey) has introduced its subscription-based service.

The Formedic Patient Forms system has been extensively reviewed by outside legal counsel and an analysis has been provided that pharmaceutical manufacturer sponsorship of the forms is compliant with the gift provisions of the revised PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals that went into effect January Many of Formedic's clients have made their own determination that the forms are compliant with the Code as educational items. However, it is recognized that some of the provisions of the Code may be subject to interpretation.

Formedic has revised its system into a subscription-based service to remove any barriers to acceptance by some PhRMA members. This subscription-based service reflects the statements made by PhRMA "that the intent of the Code was not to prohibit advertising" and removes any need to analyze the forms as gift items under the new code.

Report: DES use to rise through 2013

According to Millennium Research Group's (MRG; Waltham, Massachusetts) US Markets for Interventional Cardiology Devices 2009 report, the use of drug-eluting stents will continue to climb steadily through 2013, driven in large part by the adoption of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) patients, who accounted for nearly 150,000 PCIs in the U.S. in 2008.

In the past, primary PCI — defined as a PCI performed within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms — was mostly limited to facilities that had surgical back-up present. Studies have shown, however, that AMI patients who undergo primary PCI have improved outcomes over thrombolytics, even without surgical back-up. Experts are now trying to reduce the time it takes to get patients to a cath lab — in some cases bypassing the emergency room — which will drive primary PCI adoption and support DES use in AMI patients.

"The TAPAS trial indicated that STEMI patients treated with aspiration prior to stenting had over 30% lower mortality in the following year compared to those who had angioplasty-with-stent procedures," said Stephanie LaBelle, senior analyst at MRG. "As a result, the portion of primary PCIs using aspiration rather than predilation prior to stenting will grow in AMI patients through 2013."