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【技术产业】强生公司与PillCam 合作伙伴分手
J&J Spits Out PillCam
Posted by Shirley S. Wang
Given Imaging, maker of a camera-in-a-capsule that snaps pictures of the G.I. tract from the inside out, and Johnson & Johnson have called it quits.
We at the Health Blog were surprised by the dissolution of their marketing partnership because Given’s super-cool PillCam (pictured) seems like just the sort of whiz-bang device that J&J covets. And only this morning J&J said it was on the hunt for growth, pretty much wherever the company could find some.
Only three years ago, the PillCam was hailed as the winner of the Wall Street Journal Innovation Award. The device, a kinder and gentler alternative to those brutish endoscopes, comes in three versions that can photograph the small bowel, esophagus and colon. The first two are FDA-approved in the U.S.; the third is available only in Europe. J&J and Given had worked together for three and a half years to market the products.
To find out what went down, the Health Blog talked with Given’s CFO Yuval Yanai. “It was obvious to both sides there was no significant added value working this way,” he told us. “On the one hand, we were a little bit disappointed because partnering with J&J is nice for every company.” On the other, “the termination of the agreement doesn’t present any downside. I would even dare to say there are some positive aspects,” said Yanai. As part of the breakup, Given receives $7.5 million from InScope, part of J&J’s Ethicon EndoSurgery unit.
So what gives at J&J? “It was just a part of our business review and deciding where to put our resources going forward,” Rhonda Luniak, a J&J spokeswoman told the Health Blog. “We continually look at our business portfolio so we have to make these tradeoffs.”
Even with J&J’s help, Given’s Yanai concede it’s been rough getting insurers to pay doctors for using its esophageal camera. That’s held back sales. The PillCam ESO is only paid for by health plans covering about 13 million Americans. The PillCam for the small bowel is paid for by plans covering about 210 million Americans, Yanai said. The PillCam procedure costs about $450, plus a doctor’s fees. Reimbursement is about $680.
The PillCam has “revolutionized” diagnostic testing in the small bowel but the esophageal camera has been less widely used, says Richard Lin, a gastroenterologist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey who has no relationship with the company. The PillCam “simplifies the evaluation process,” Lin says. But, he points out, that when using the PillCam, doctors can’t immediately fix problems they find or take a biopsy when they see something wrong, as they can during traditional endoscopy. [标签:content1][标签:content2]
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-04-06 14:04
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