News Briefs
News Briefs
Some infusion services deemed medically unnecessary
According to a Health and Human Services’ Inspector General’s Office audit, about 50% of infusion therapy services provided to nursing home patients from 1995 to 1998 were medically unnecessary. Among the findings were suppliers charged skilled-nursing facilities up to 10 times the going rate for infusion drugs — a cost that was then passed along to Medicare. Three companies accounted for about 20% of the infusion therapy costs reimbursed on a national basis by Medicare.
First entirely new antibiotic awaiting FDA approval
A new synthetic compound, Zyvox, is being described as the first entirely new antibiotic developed in more than 35 years. Zyvox works against gram-positive bacteria such as strep, staph, and enterococci bacteria found in septicimia, pneumonia, and skin and urinary tract infections. Pharmacia & Upjohn, manufacturer of the new drug, hope to have approval from the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies by the end of this year.
Technologies enter vascular access device markets
Increasing demand for patient treatment in nonhospital settings appears to drive the growing sales of infusion pumps, especially those that are ambulatory-capable. The health care group at Mountainview, CA-based Frost & Sullivan estimates the total 1998 revenues for implantable infusion pumps (programmable and nonprogrammable), insulin infusion pumps, enteral feeding pumps, syringe infusion pumps, ambulatory infusion pumps, and large-volume infusion pumps at $674.9 million — a growth rate of approximately 22% over 1997. The 1998 market revenues for insulin infusion pumps were estimated at $59 million, reflecting a growth rate of 20% over the previous year’s total.
Overcoming limited Medicare reimbursement coverage is the top challenge for infusion pump manufacturers, and continues to shift patient distribution to alternate care facilities. The major trend in the U.S. infusion pump markets is the increasing amount of programmable devices and telemedicine features that allow for more end-user flexibility. In 1998, the large-volume infusion pump segment dominated the overall U.S. infusion pump industry, accumulating 55% of the total revenues.
As for the future, Frost & Sullivan predicts that implantable infusion pumps and insulin infusion pumps will achieve the highest compound annual growth rates at 18.7% and 17% through 2005, respectively. Strategic alliances with drug companies should increase product penetration of implantable products, while insulin infusion pumps have the potential to capture a large, undiagnosed diabetes population in dire need of proper treatment.
"Among the U.S. diabetes population, 5.4 million are still undiagnosed," says Frost & Sullivan medical device analyst Meltem Buyukonat. "In order to increase public awareness, diabetes associations and insulin pump manufacturers have launched several campaigns about the disease."
Frost & Sullivan presents market engineering awards to recognize companies that have worked hard to make a positive contribution to the medical device industry and the U.S. infusion pump markets. For further information, contact the company at (650) 237-4382 or visit its Web site at www.frost.com.
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