A Medical Device Daily

Reflect Scientific (RSI; Orem, Utah), a distributor of scientific equipment and related supplies to the life sciences industry, reported the closing of the merger agreement with All Temp Engineering (ATE; San Jose, California).

All Temp Engineering will be integrated into CSI’s Cryometrix unit, and both businesses will operate from a new facility located in San Jose, California.

According to RSI, technology, marketing and other resource sharing will enable ATE and the Cryometrix Products group to take advantage of synergistic and growing market opportunities while improving the overall efficiency of their operations.

“The outlook for both businesses is excellent, and this merger has strengthened our foundation to facilitate and support their future growth,” said John Hammerman, general manager of Cryometrix.

Reflect first disclosed its intent to acquire ATE last August (Medical Device Daily, Aug. 8, 2006).

ATE says that it serves more than 1,450 companies in business sectors such as medical device, biotech, pharmaceutical, research, universities, semiconductor, aerospace, military and industrial food processing.

Dade Behring (Deerfield, Illinois) reported that it has signed a license agreement with Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (RUNMC; Nijmegen, the Netherlands) granting Dade Behring the exclusive rights for a new coagulation test called the Nijmegen Hemostasis Assay (NHA), anticipated by researchers at RUNMC to become accepted for testing a broad range of coagulation disorders.

A research agreement was also signed granting Dade Behring with the rights to results from future NHA research and development performed by RUNMC.

Hemostasis is a complex process in which multiple components regulate blood flow and clot formation. Coagulation, fibrinolysis and platelet aggregation are a part of this process. The NHA is viewed by researchers to be important because it could provide insight into the whole blood-clotting process—simultaneously in one test. This type of test is commonly called a “global” test, referring to its potential for screening a broad range of coagulation disorders including thrombophilia and fibrinolytic abnormalities.

In other dealmaking news:

Affiliated Computer Services (ACS; Dallas), a provider of business process outsourcing and information technology solutions, reported that its wholly owned subsidiary, ACS State and Local Solutions, has signed a definitive agreement with Cambridge Solutions (Greenwich, Connecticut) to acquire certain assets of Albion (Atlanta), a company specializing in integrated eligibility software solutions for the health and human services (HHS) market. The assets of Albion will be purchased for about $30 million, subject to adjustments, through a combination of cash and borrowings under ACS’ existing credit facility. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the consent of current Albion customers.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS; Philadelphia) has agreed to purchase Graduate Hospital (Philadelphia) from Tenet Healthcare (Dallas).

UPHS said it will convert the hospital into a comprehensive rehabilitation center and operate it in partnership with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network (Allentown, Pennsylvania). Once Graduate Hospital is refurbished, it will also house a long-term acute care hospital and provide enhanced educational and research opportunities related to the science of rehabilitation medicine.

UPHS said that Graduate Hospital employees will have the opportunity to pursue a transfer to other Tenet hospitals or to UPHS for positions for which they are qualified, or apply for positions at the new facility when it reopens.

Good Shepherd Penn Partners will convert the hospital. Construction is expected to begin after the sale is complete and take about 15 months, and the new facility is expected to open to patients in the summer of 2008.

Document Storage Systems (DSS; Jupiter, Florida), a provider of software integration for healthcare information systems, reported purchasing Sage Health Management Solutions (Minneapolis), a private evidence-based healthcare technology company and developers of RadWise. Sage will become a wholly owned subsidiary of DSS

RadWise provides clinicians with evidence-based ordering recommendations based on the patient’s diagnosis, symptoms and procedure requested. By ensuring that the appropriate procedures are ordered, RadWise can improve quality and outcomes, as well as reduce the estimated 30% to 40% of healthcare costs that are attributed to inappropriate test orders, DSS said.

RadWise is a secure, encrypted Internet-based tool that can be implemented inside or outside of an institution’s firewall and can be integrated with existing practice management or radiology information systems.