A Medical Device Daily

Cardinal Health (Dublin, Ohio) said it has completed the previously disclosed $490 million acquisition of privately held Enturia (Leawood, Kansas), the manufacturer of infection prevention products sold under the ChloraPrep brand name (Medical Device Daily, March 5, 2008).

ChloraPrep brand products are used in U.S. hospitals and surgery centers as a preoperative skin preparation to help prevent blood stream and surgical site infections, two common types of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) among surgical patients. The products use disposable applicators to deliver a concentration of chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) that penetrates the first five cell layers of the skin to help reduce skin-dwelling microorganisms that cause infections. The applicator design eliminates direct hand-to-patient contact, helping prevent cross-contamination.

Cardinal said the acquisition of Enturia will complement its infection prevention offerings by adding a "differentiated and proven" product line to its medical products and Technologies offerings.

Cardinal said it plans "to accelerate" sales of ChloraPrep products to both hospital and alternate-care customers through its U.S. and international sales networks.

Enturia was founded as Medi-Flex Hospital Products in 1985.

USGI Medical (San Clemente, California) reported that it licensed its incisionless surgery technology to Intuitive Surgical (Sunnyvale, California) for use in medical robotics applications. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We've been impressed by USGI's technical and clinical development, including their intellectual property," said Gary Guthart, president/COO of Intuitive. "The combination of USGI's intellectual property with Intuitive's robotic capabilities allows for compelling possibilities for future robotic products."

USGI's incisionless surgery platform, the EndoSurgical Operating System (EOS), is designed to address a range of surgical indications. Surgeons and gastroenterologists currently use the EOS to perform endolumenal (procedures within the GI tract) and translumenal procedures through the body's natural orifices, commonly referred to as Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery, or NOTES, USGI said.

"This agreement with Intuitive Surgical is another step forward in our efforts to establish the EOS as the leading, most complete surgical platform for incisonless surgery," said Eugene Chen, USGI CEO. "We believe that mechanical and robotic solutions complement each other and together will advance and expand this field to a wider group of procedures and patients."

USGI said that surgeons have used its EOS to complete the first transgastric gall bladder and appendix removals in the U.S. and to close the access incision (gastrotomy) in the stomach wall during NOTES and that many surgeons and gastroenterologists use the EOS routinely to perform an incisionless procedure to reduce the size of the gastric pouch and stoma in patients who experience weight regain after gastric bypass surgery.

The EOS includes the TransPort multi-lumen operating platform, the g-Prox tissue grasper and approximation device, expandable tissue anchors, and a variety of specialized instruments, all of which have received FDA clearance.