Medical Device Daily
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Germany's medical technology sector will grow 8% in 2008 to just under 146 billion in sales, according to Spectaris (Berlin), the German Industry Association for Optical, Medical and Mechatronical Technologies.

The predicted increase is in line with the 8.6% growth reported for German med-tech in 2007 that topped 142 billion.

Yet Germany faces an unprecedented challenge in sustaining its current growth and the continuing innovation that gives German med-tech a competitive advantage over other regions worldwide, according to the association.

The association's warning was boosted by an alert in mid-April from the German engineering association Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI; D sseldorf), which reported in its annual med-tech survey that more than 30,000 job postings are going wanting in the sector due to a shortage of qualified personnel.

VDI said 40% of the 1,000 engineers participating in the survey rated the availability of required specialists as "poor" or "very poor," and in the fields of chemistry and engineering/systems construction, executives said the shortage is at a dramatically low level.

Where employment grew 1.3% in 2006 among the 2,690 companies participating in the report, accelerating sales and demand for products in 2007 pushed employment up 5% to 235,000 people.

Some 64% of Spectaris members rated the lack of technical personnel as the top issue facing the German sector, ahead of global competition (32%) and costs and capital requirements (23%).

Meanwhile VDI reported in its annual innovation climate index that the mood among engineers remains positive, with in excess of 80% saying Germany continued to maintain either a leading position in optical, medical or mechatronical technologies or to rank in the top third worldwide.

Only 6% worried about a negative economic trend and the participating engineers said they expected strong growth for German biotechnology and medical technology products through the end of 2008.

New Bulgarian agreement for Osteotech

Osteotech (Eatontown, New Jersey), which terms itself "a leader in the emerging field of biologic solutions for regenerative medicine," said it has renewed its exclusive tissue recovery agreement with the Euro Atlantic Transplant Alliance (EATA), a Bulgarian non-profit foundation.

The agreement, which took effect April 1, is for an initial term of seven years and automatically renews for successive four-year terms unless a written notice of intent to terminate is provided by either party at least 12 months before the end of the initial or any renewal term.

This new agreement replaces a previous agreement that was due to expire in early 2009.

Sam Owusu-Akyaw, president/CEO of Osteotech, said, "We are ... pleased to renew our relationship with the Republic of Bulgaria and the EATA. Through the tissue-recovery efforts of both organizations over the past five years, Osteotech has been able to use its processing and product technologies to bring safe and clinically effective OsteoBiologic products to the European market for use by surgeons to alleviate pain, promote biologic healing and restore function."

Dr. Roman Hitchev, president and chief medical officer of TB Osteocentre Bulgaria EAD, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Osteotech, said, "We have had an excellent working relationship with the EATA over the last five years and together have established a successful tissue-recovery system in the Republic of Bulgaria. We look forward to continuing our outstanding relationship with the EATA and, working with the EATA, to successfully integrate the Bulgarian tissue recovery and transplantation system into the tissue exchange system of the European Union."

Galina Balabanova, MD, executive director of the EATA, said, "Osteotech and Osteocentre Bulgaria have been excellent partners and supporters of tissue banking in Bulgaria. They have a rich tradition in technological advancement and quality. Osteotech is also a key financial supporter of the collaboration we have with the Scoliosis Research Society, which allows us to provide pediatric spinal deformity surgery for children without healthcare insurance coverage."

The EATA, a non-profit foundation authorized under the Bulgarian Transplant Law of 2007 and organized under the Bulgarian Public Foundations Law of 2001, is responsible for funding healthcare projects in Bulgaria for the public benefit, tissue transplantation, international patient referral services and pediatric spinal deformity surgery for children without healthcare insurance coverage.

The organization also provides financial management and fundraising to hospitals and providers participating in the Bulgarian national donor recovery network.

Osteotech is a provider of OsteoBiologic solutions for regenerative medicine for repair of the musculoskeletal system.

London office opened by Sunquest

Sunquest Information Systems (Tucson, Arizona), a developer of laboratory information systems, has opened an office in London to serve as its international headquarters.

David Allcock, VP of international sales, will manage the UK office and staff for all sales, business development, service and support functions.

Formerly operating as a business unit specializing in clinical data solutions for Misys Healthcare, Sunquest became a private company again this past October after it was purchased by Vista Equity Partners.

The company said it has an established footprint in the UK, with 17 prominent hospitals and healthcare providers using its Sunquest Laboratory Information System, CoPathPlus Anatomic Pathology System and Radiology Information System.

Sunquest said more than 1,200 hospitals and commercial laboratories are using its products worldwide, and that it is pursuing an "aggressive international growth strategy" through increased sales and marketing activities, new distribution agreements and industry partnerships.