A Medical Device Daily

China Array Plastics (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) reported that it has opened a new injection-molding facility for medical and other high-tech uses in the Zhuankou Industrial Park in Wuhan, China.

The company said it is among the first in China to specialize exclusively in custom molding high-performance thermoplastics — such as polysulfone, polyetherimide and polyetheretherketone — used in high-tech applications.

The new facility, Cina Array Wuhan, is a wholly owned foreign enterprise in China. The company said that structure allows it to protect its customers’ intellectual property rights.

“This is of paramount importance as the company moves further into the area of high-technology products,” said Russell Johnson, president of China Array. “It is particularly helpful to those firms seeking entry into China with a minimum risk.”

China Array said it offers multinational original equipment manufacturers operating in China “tremendous advantages vs. importing parts, including higher-quality parts, faster delivery, lower manufacturing costs, and highly trained U.S. and local expertise.”

The company is targeting high-end niche segments where such materials are increasingly in demand, such as the medical field, where it said “low-volume, high-value” applications are required.

In addition to injection molding expertise, China Array offers advanced engineering, mold design, application development and testing services to further support customer growth and innovation.

“We are different from other injection molding companies operating in China,” Johnson said. “Molders of commodity materials are everywhere in the country, but custom injection molders of high-performance thermoplastics for medical OEMs are almost non-existent.”

Carl Olson, VP, sales and marketing, cited the quality of the company’s engineering staff as another reason for its growth “Application engineers are former GE Plastics employees, where much of the breakthrough development in high-performance thermoplastics historically took place.”

1st TomoTherapy system installed in China

TomoTherapy (Madison, Wisconsin) said ceremonies will be held next Monday to mark the installation of China’s first TomoTherapy Hi Art treatment system at PLA General Hospital in Beijing.

PLA General serves military, government and civilian populations, with 2.5 million outpatient visits annually. It is considered a flagship among China’s hospitals and a national center for cancer treatment and research.

Major General Qin Yinhe, president of the hospital, said the Hi Art treatment system “can provide our patients a better and more efficient treatment solution. The new system represents [our] commitment to the best quality and practice, creating a model for patient care nationwide.”

Qin said the Hi Art treatment system was chosen because it combines CT imaging and helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy.

Dr. Ma Lin, chair of radiation oncology at the hospital, said, “TomoTherapy is the only fully integrated radiation treatment system, especially with the dose-guided adaptive capability. Also, treatment accuracy is the first precondition for effective patient care, and [the system’s] CTrue technology provides true accuracy.”

TomoTherapy CEO Fred Robertson, MD, said, “Installation of the first Hi Art treatment system in China begins a valued partnership both in business and medical technology, which will further the quality of global cancer care.”

“There is a remarkable gap in many aspects of cancer treatment in China compared to the U.S.,” said Larry Wang, CEO of TomoKnife, the exclusive distributor for TomoTherapy products in China.

“In China, the average number of linear accelerators per million people is less than one, versus 13 in the U.S. And in China, only 25% of cancer patients are treated by radiation therapy, compared to 50% in the U.S.”

Symbion shareholders nix takeover bid

Shareholders of Symbion Health (Melbourne, Australia) have rejected the A$2.9 billion ($2.4 billion) takeover bid led by Healthscope, extending a nine-month battle for more than 130 pathology laboratories and medical clinics in Australia.

According to a Bloomberg report, Primary Health Care, which amassed a 20% stake in Symbion after its own buyout bid was rejected in February, voted against the A$4.49-a-share offer, preventing Healthscope from getting the three-quarters majority needed for approval.

Bloomberg said the vote may prompt Primary, Australia’s third-largest health company, to revive its own takeover plans. At stake are more than 900 clinics, labs and collection centers in Australia, where the proportion of retirees will double over the next 40 years, stoking healthcare demand, the news service said.

Symbion, Australia’s biggest healthcare firm, and Healthscope may discuss an alternative plan for completing the proposal within the next five days, they said.

Excluding Primary’s stake, 99.2% of shares voted were cast in favor of Healthscope’s proposal, Symbion said in its statement. “Our proposal is extremely popular with Symbion shareholders as a whole,” said Bruce Dixon, Healthscope managing director.

Symbion’s laboratories analyze specimens from about 10 million patients a year that are collected at 660 centers in every state except South Australia and Tasmania. That gives it about a third of the private pathology market in Australia, according to the Bloomberg story.

Healthscope, Australia’s second-biggest hospital owner, has teamed with buyout firms Ironbridge Capital and Archer Capital in the bid to acquire Symbion. The company wanted to take the pathology and medical centers and laboratories, while the buyout firms would get a drug distribution unit that services 3,000 pharmacies and hospitals, and a vitamin-making business that includes the Cenovis and Nature’s Own brands.

Alcon eyes European operations

Alcon (Huenenberg, Switzerland) said this week that it is going to expand its global administration operations.

The expansion is expected to involve relocating the eye care products company’s finance, information technologies, logistics and other centralized administrative operations from Huenenberg to Fribourg, Switzerland. A new marketing management facility will also be created in Geneva.