B&L reports delay filing annual report to SEC

Bausch & Lomb (B&L; Rochester, New York) has filed a Form 12b-25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, indicating that it must delay filing its annual report on Form 10-K for 2006, which was required to be filed Feb. 28.

The company said its inability to file is principally due to the considerable time and effort that it had to devote to completing the recently completed financial restatement and filing of its 2005 10-K, which has prevented the company from being able to timely complete its financial close process for 2006. Bausch & Lomb indicated that it currently expects to file the 2006 10-K by April 30.

The company currently expects to issue a news release announcing certain preliminary and unaudited 2006 financial results and expectations for 2007 by mid-March.

Merge eMed now Merge Healthcare North America

Merge Healthcare (Milwaukee) reported that the name of its North American direct business unit will be changed from Merge eMed to Merge Healthcare North America. Merge Healthcare's three business units are: Merge Healthcare North America, providing RIS, PACS and clinical applications and related services to hospitals, imaging centers and specialty clinics in North America; Merge Healthcare EMEA, providing RIS, PACS, clinical applications and electronic patient records in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Cedara Software, developers of imaging software and custom-engineered solutions for the global OEM market.

"The name 'Merge Healthcare' signifies finality of the merger between the North American businesses of Merge eFilm and eMed Technologies that took place in 2005," said Kenneth Rardin, Merge Healthcare CEO.

Merge Healthcare develops imaging and information management software and services.