A Medical Device Daily
Beckman Coulter (Fullerton, California) reported that it has renewed agreements valued at about $94 million per year with MedAssets Supply Chain Systems (Alpharetta, Georgia). As part of the new three-year agreements, MedAssets members will continue to purchase automation, general chemistry, immunoassay and integrated workcell systems from Beckman Coulter.
The renewals complement existing agreements for hematology, flow cytometry and coagulation systems, already on contract with MedAssets.
Leland McArthy, corporate vice president of North America commercial operations for Beckman Coulter, said, “Our systems simplify and automate laboratory processes, helping to improve the productivity of MedAssets members.”
Systems covered under the agreement include Beckman Coulter’s Power Processor Automation Systems, UniCel DxC 800 and DxC 600 Synchron Clinical Systems, as well as high-throughput UniCel DxI 800 Access Immunoassay Systems and integrated UniCel DxC 600i Clinical Systems.
In other agreements news:
• Vermillion (Fremont, California) reported that Ohio State University (OSU, Columbus) will offer Vermillion’s diagnostic test for managing patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a hematologic disease.
Vermillion will license the TTP assay, co-developed with the Ohio State University Research Foundation, to Ohio State University for availability through the OSU reference laboratory. OSU expects the test to be available by the end of the month.
Using SELDI mass spectrometry, the TTP test directly measures enzymatic levels and is expected to provide precise, quantitative and reproducible results with better turnaround time when compared to current methods.
TTP is a life-threatening blood-clotting disorder caused by a deficiency in the enzyme ADAMTS13. Loss of this enzyme causes platelet clumping and red blood cell destruction, and can lead to neurological abnormalities and abnormalities in kidney function. Correct diagnosis and continual monitoring of patients with TTP is critical for selecting the proper course of treatment.
“The SELDI instrumentation provides an ideal platform for directly measuring ADAMTS13 activity in patients suspected of having TTP,” said Haifeng Wu, MD, assistant professor of pathology and medicine and director of the Clinical Coagulation Laboratory at Ohio State University Medical Center.
•InRoomMD (Charlotte, North Carolina) has reached an agreement to make its U.S.-based network of medical providers accessible to groups insured with Allianz Worldwide Care (Dublin, Ireland), starting in January.
The CDC estimates that 33% of all ER visits (by domestic residents and international travelers to the U.S.) are semi-urgent or non-urgent, and could have been treated on an outpatient basis. The cost of a non-urgent U.S. ER visit can run as high as $3,000 vs. InRoomMD’s cost of $200 to $500.
InRoomMD provides a network of American-trained and board-certified physicians available 24/7 for in-room hotel house calls to diagnose and treat acute conditions. Allianz Worldwide Care, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Allianz Group, specializes in providing international health insurance for employees, individuals and their dependants, wherever they are in the world.
InRoomMD concierge-style healthcare services also include expedited access to emergency care, prescription replacements, durable medical supplies such as oxygen and wheelchairs, as well as specialist referrals, both direct to consumers by subscription and as a benefit to groups covered by traditional or international private medical insurance policies. In addition, its relationship with partner hospitals allows InRoomMD to help insured members with urgent healthcare needs to navigate health care systems in unfamiliar cities.