The $150 billion industry says the tax, part of a broader plan to subsidize insurance for up to 30 million people, will slice into profits in an industry already battling price cuts. Stryker, a Michigan-based maker of artificial hips and knees, said prices for its products dropped 1.9% in the second quarter from a year ago.
Such news makes companies worry that they won't be able to pass the tax increase along, as the authors of the tax had expected, said Steve LaPierre, vice president of government affairs at Boston Scientific, which makes cardiac stents and other devices.
Top Cheap Companies For 2015: Bacterin International Holdings Inc (BONE)
Bacterin International Holdings, Inc. (Bacterin), formerly K-Kitz, Inc., develops, manufactures and markets biologics products to domestic and international markets through Bacterin's biologics division. Its products are used in a variety of applications, including enhancing fusion in spine surgery, relief of back pain with a facet joint stabilization, promotion of bone growth in foot and ankle surgery, promotion of skull healing following neurosurgery and subcondral bone defect repair in knee and other joint surgeries. The Company has developed and manufacture and sell several human tissue-based products, primarily allografts, into the medical marketplace through its biologics division. In addition, it also manufactures and sells, directly under its own name and indirectly through distributors, various coating and surgical drain products through its medical devices division.
The Company�� medical devices division develops medical devices intended for use in several diverse clinical areas, including orthopedic, plastic, and cardiovascular surgery. The medical devices division also develops custom surgical instrument kits for use with allografts processed by its biologics division. The medical devices division actively develops intellectual property associated with its devices and coating platforms, for the purposes of protecting its Bacterin-branded devices and for use in alliance projects. The manufacturing and operations of the biologics and medical devices divisions are organized separately while products from both are marketed through several channels, including independent distributors, joint development projects and its direct sales network.
Biologics Division
The Company�� biologics products include OsteoSponge, OsteoSponge SC, OsteoWrap, OsteoLock and BacFast, as well as certain other allograft products, such as OsteoSponge, OsteoWrap, OsteoLock and BacFast and hMatrix. OsteoSponge is a form of demineralized bone matrix made from 100% human bone. Ost! eoSponge provides a natural scaffold for cellular in-growth and exposes bone-forming proteins to the healing environment. The malleable properties of OsteoSponge enable it to conform to, and fill, defects. Upon compressing the allograft, OsteoSponge springs back to completely fill the void. Its mechanical and biological properties make OsteoSponge an bone graft for use in various orthopedic practices, including spine, neurology, cranial/maxillofacial, trauma, plastic/reconstruction and general procedures where new bone growth is needed.
OsteoSponge SC is a form of OsteoSponge designed to be used in joint surgery. Bacterin has shown, in goat studies, the ability to re-generate cartilage in joint repair and believes that this product has the potential to significantly change the standard of care in human joint surgery. OsteoWrap is 100% human cortical bone demineralized through a process to make the graft flexible while maintaining allograft integrity. This product has various applications in orthopedic, neurological, trauma, oral/maxillofacial and reconstructive procedures. OsteoWrap can wrap around non-union fractures to assist with fusion, can act as a biologic plate or can be used in conjunction with a hardware plate system. Additionally, this product provides the surgeon with superior handling characteristics as the allograft can be easily sized using surgical scissors or a scalpel, and will withhold sutures or staples for fixation.
OsteoLock and BacFast are dowels made from human bone. BacFast HD, having the same design as OsteoLock, is optimized through its demineralization technology. OsteoLock and BacFast can be used to augment spinal procedures for mild spinal conditions. hMatrix dermal scaffold is an extension of Bacterin's core biologics technology and its third human acellular biological scaffold. hMatrix is an acellular matrix made from donated human dermal tissue that is used to replace a patient's damaged tissue. hMatrix provides a natural collagen tissue scaffold! that pro! motes cellular ingrowth, tissue vascularization and regeneration. The Company makes and sells sports allografts which are processed specifically for anterior and posterior cruciate ligament repairs, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and meniscal repair; milled allografts, which are consists of cortical bone milled to desired shapes and dimensions, also called milled spinal allografts, and traditional allografts for multi-disciplinary applications, including orthopedics, neurology, podiatry, oral/maxillofacial, genitourinary and plastic/reconstructive.
Medical Device Products
The Company�� medical devices division researches, tests and develops coatings for medical devices, particularly antimicrobial-based coatings. This division produces and distributes OsteoSelect DBM putty, an osteoinductive product used by surgeons as bone void filler in the extremities and pelvis. OsteoSelect DBM putty is engineered with the surgeon in mind. OsteoSelect can be molded into any shape and compressed into bony voids. Its medical devices division also develops custom surgical instrument kits for use with allografts processed by its biologics division. The Company sells a surgical drain series called ViaTM, which is used to drain exudate from a surgical site. Building upon the ViaTM platform, Bacterin plans on releasing a second generation product called the Elutia surgical drains, which will be performance enhanced through an antimicrobial coating to help reduce the incidence of surgical site infection.
The Company competes with Medtronic, DePuy, Synthes, Arthrex, Smith & Nephew, Nuvasive, OrthoFix, Biomet, Osteotech, Orthovita, MTF, Stryker, RTI, AlloSource, Lifenet Health, Integra, ConMed/Linvatec, Wright, Exactech, ArthroCare, Harvest and Arteriocyte.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
It may not be as big as NuVasive, Inc. (NASDAQ:NUVA), and it might not be as sexy as MiMedx Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MDXG). But, Bacterin International Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:BONE) offers something to investors that MDXG and NUVA don't - can't - right now... a distinct opportunity for a lot of upside in a short amount of time.
- [By James E. Brumley]
Traders may not want to get married for the long haul to any of them, but for speculators looking for a quick, profitable hit, Arca Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:ABIO), Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:PSTI), and Bacterin International Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:BONE) may be better-than-average bets. Here's why.
Top 5 Medical Stocks To Invest In 2014: Conmed Corp (CNMD)
CONMED Corporation (CONMED), incorporated on February 10, 1970, is a medical technology company/ The Company emphasizes on surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures and monitoring. The Company's products are used by surgeons and physicians in a range of specialties, including orthopedics, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, and gastroenterology. The Company operates in five segments: CONMED Endoscopic Technologies, CONMED Endosurgery, CONMED Electrosurgery, CONMED Linvatec and CONMED Patient Care.
Arthroscopy
The Company offers a range of devices and products for uses in arthroscopic surgery. The Company's arthroscopy products include powered resection instruments, arthroscopes, reconstructive systems, tissue repair sets, metal and bioabsorbable implants as well as related disposable products and fluid management systems. The Company also offers a line of video Endoscopy products suitable for uses in multi-specialty clinical environments beyond orthopedic arthroscopy, including laparoscopy, ear, nose and throat (ENT), gynecology and urology, as well as integrated operating room systems and equipment.
Powered Surgical Instruments
Electric, battery or pneumatic powered surgical instruments are used to perform orthopedic, arthroscopic and other surgical procedures where cutting, drilling or reaming of bone is required. Each power system consists of one or more handpieces and related accessories as well as disposable and limited reusable items (e.g., burs, saw blades, drills and reamers). Powered instruments are categorized as either small bone, large bone or specialty powered instruments. Specialty powered instruments are utilized in procedures such as spinal surgery, neurosurgery, ENT, oral/maxillofacial surgery, and cardiothoracic surgery.
The Company's line of powered instruments is sold principally under the Hall Surgical brand name, for use in large and small bone orthopedic, arthroscopic, oral/maxillofaci! al, podiatric, plastic, ENT, neurological, spinal and cardiothoracic surgeries. Large bone, neurosurgical, spinal and cardiothoracic powered instruments are sold primarily to hospitals while small bone arthroscopic, otolaryngological and oral/maxillofacial powered instruments are sold to hospitals, outpatient facilities and physicians offices.
The Company's powered instruments product line includes the MPower battery system. This orthopedic power system is specifically designed to meet the requirements of orthopedic applications. The MPower battery system allows a facility to purchase a single power system to perform total joint arthroplasty, trauma, arthroscopy, and small bone procedures. The system also provides a multitude of battery technologies to meet the varying needs of hospitals worldwide.
Electrosurgery
The use of electrosurgical units and associated surgical tools is commonplace in the hospital surgical suite, surgery centers, clinics and physician offices. Electrosurgery is routinely used to cut and coagulate tissue and small vessels in open and laparoscopic procedures using energy produced through radio frequency (RF) technology. Electrosurgery can be used in almost all surgical procedures including specialties, such as general, gynecology, orthopedics, cardiology, thoracics, urology, neurology, and dermatology. The Company�� portfolio consist of energy-based products is the Argon Beam Coagulation (ABC) technology. ABC technology combines the use of argon gas and electrosurgical energy to allow the surgeon to produce a surface coagulation which results in less tissue damage.
Patient Care
The Company's patient care product line includes a line of vital signs and cardiac monitoring products, including pulse oximetry equipment and sensors, electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes and cables, cardiac defibrillation and pacing pads and blood pressure cuffs. The Company also offers a line of suction instruments and tubing for use in the! operatin! g room, as well as a line of intravenous (IV) products for use in the critical care areas of the hospital.
Endosurgery
Endosurgery (also referred to as minimally invasive surgery or laparoscopic surgery) is surgery performed without a incision. The Company's Endosurgical products include the Reflex and PermaClip clip appliers for vessel and duct ligation, Universal S/I (suction/irrigation) and Universal Plus laparoscopic instruments and specialized suction/irrigation electrosurgical instrument systems for use in laparoscopic surgery. The Company also offers cutting and dilating trocars, suction/irrigation accessories, laparoscopic scissors, dissectors and graspers, active electrodes, insufflation needles and linear cutters and staplers for use in laparoscopic surgery. The Company's disposable skin staplers are used to close large skin incisions with surgical staples, thus eliminating the time consuming suturing process. CONMED Endosurgery also offers a uterine manipulator called VCARE for use in increasing the efficiency of laparoscopic hysterectomies and other gynecologic laparoscopic procedures.
Endoscopic Technologies
The Company offers a line of minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic products used in conjunction with procedures, which requires flexible endoscopy. The Company's principal customers include gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopists, pulmonologists, and nurses who perform both diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures in hospitals and outpatient clinics.
The Company's primary focus is to identify, develop, acquire, manufacture and market differentiated medical devices, which improve outcomes in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal and pulmonary disorders. The Company's diagnostic and therapeutic product offerings for GI and pulmonology include mucosal management devices, forceps, scope management accessories, bronchoscopy devices, dilatation, stricture management devices, hemostasis, biliary devices, and ! polypecto! my.
The Company competes with Smith & Nephew, plc, Arthrex, Inc., Stryker Corporation, ArthroCare Corporation, Johnson & Johnson: DePuy Mitek, Inc., Biomet, Inc., Medtronic, Inc. Midas Rex and Xomed, Synvasive Technology, Inc., Synthes, Inc., MicroAire Surgical Instruments, LLC, Zimmer Holdings, Inc., Covidien Ltd.; Valleylab, Medline Industries, Inc., ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH, Megadyne, Kendall, 3M Company, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc, U.S.Surgical, Boston Scientific Corporation, Wilson-Cook Medical, Inc, Olympus America, Inc. and STERIS Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on CONMED (Nasdaq: CNMD ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By James Brumley]
Shares of MDT stock have fallen 6% since their early January peak, but have been in an uptrend since late 2011 … one of the few stocks in the medical device world that has been rock-solid in a rocky environment.
Medical Devices: ConMed Corp. (CNMD)With a market cap of only $1.2 billion, ConMed Corp. (CNMD) isn’t exactly a household name. That doesn’t mean CNMD stock can’t be a potent addiction to a portfolio, though.
Top 5 Medical Stocks To Invest In 2014: Juno Therapeutics Inc (JUNO)
Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (Juno) is a United States-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in developing cell-based cancer immunotherapies based on its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), and high-affinity T cell receptor (TCR), technologies to genetically engineer T cells to recognize and kill cancer cells. Through genetic engineering, the Company inserts a gene for a particular CAR or TCR construct into the T cell that enables it to better recognize cancer cells. Its CAR technology directs T cells to recognize cancer cells based on the expression of specific proteins located on the cell surface, whereas its TCR technology provides the T cells with a specific T cell receptor to recognize protein fragments derived from either the surface or inside the cell.
To provide treatment, the Company harvests blood cells from a cancer patient, separate the appropriate T cells, activate the cells, insert the gene sequence for the CAR or TCR construct into the cells��Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), and grow these modified T cells to the desired dose level. The modified T cells can then be infused into the patient or frozen and stored for later infusion. Once infused, the T cells are designed to multiply, through a process known as cell expansion, when they encounter the targeted proteins and to kill the targeted cancer cells.
CD19-Directed Product Candidates
The Company�� product candidates, such as JCAR015, JCAR017, and JCAR014, which use CAR technology to target CD19, a protein expressed on the surface of almost all B cell leukemias and lymphomas. The Company has rights to commercialize each of these product candidates across the world. The Company�� JCAR015 is an advanced development product candidate, and it has demonstrated clinically meaningful complete remission rates in adult patients with r/r ALL. JCAR015 uses the CD28 costimulatory domain and CD3 enriched peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), which requires fewer process steps for! manufacture than its defined cell composition product candidates. JCAR015 is being tested in a Phase I open label clinical trial of patients with r/r ALL for the treatment of refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
JCAR017 also targets CD19, but differs from JCAR015 in several important respects. JCAR017 uses the 4-1BB costimulatory domain and a defined cell composition of CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells. JCAR017 is in development for pediatric patients with r/r ALL. JCAR017 is being evaluated in a Phase I/II clinical trial in pediatric r/r ALL.
JCAR014 also targets CD19. JCAR014 uses the 4-1BB costimulatory domain and is composed of CD8+ central memory T cells and CD4+ T cells in a defined ratio. JCAR014 is being evaluated in a Phase I/II trial as a treatment for a number of B cell malignancies in patients relapsed or refractory to standard therapies.
Additional Product Candidates
The Company is exploring the potential of its CAR and TCR technologies against targets that have the potential to treat cancers not targeted by CD19-directed products, in particular, difficult-to-treat solid organ tumors, such as certain breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers, as well as B cell malignancies that do not express CD19. The Company�� CD22 is a cell surface protein widely expressed on B lymphocytes. It is expressed by B cell malignancies, including non-Hodgkin�� lymphoma (NHL), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The Company�� L1CAM, also known as CD171, is a cell-surface adhesion molecule that plays an important role in the development of a normal nervous system. It is overexpressed in neuroblastoma, and there is increasing evidence of aberrant expression in a variety of solid organ tumors, including glioblastoma and lung, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers.
The Company�� MUC-16 is a protein overexpressed in the ovarian cancers, but not on the surface of normal ovary cells. CA-125 is a protein found in the ! blood of ! ovarian cancer patients that results from the cleavage of MUC-16. CA-125 levels in the blood are a common test for ovarian cancer progression because they correlate with cancer progression. Its MUC-16/IL-12 product candidate uses its armored CAR technology. IL-12 is a cytokine that can help overcome the inhibitory effects that the tumor micro-environment can have on T cell activity.
The Company�� ROR-1 is a protein expressed in the formation of embryos, but in normal adult cells its surface expression is predominantly found at low levels on adipocytes, or fat cells, and briefly on precursors to B cells, or pre-B cells, during normal B cell maturation. ROR-1 is overexpressed on a variety of cancers including a subset of non-small cell lung cancer, triple negative breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer. It is expressed on B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma. The Company�� high-affinity TCR T cell product candidate targets WT-1, an intracellular protein that is overexpressed in a number of cancers, including adult myeloid leukemia, or AML, and non-small cell lung, breast, pancreatic, ovarian, and colorectal cancers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap cancer drug stock Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: KITE) has surged after announcing a�strategic research collaboration and license agreement with Amgen, Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN)�involving Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CAR) ��meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock, which had an IPO last June,�along with potential peers�Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: BLCM) and Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ: JUNO) which are players in the CAR therapies space and had more recent IPOs.
Top 5 Medical Stocks To Invest In 2014: Galectin Therapeutics Inc (GALT)
Galectin Therapeutics Inc., formerly Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on January 26, 2001, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in drug development to create therapies for cancer and fibrotic disease. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has two compounds in development, one is to be used in cancer therapy and the other intended to be used in the treatment of liver fibrosis and fatty liver disease. These two compounds are produced from different natural starting materials, both possessing the property, which lends itself to binding to and inhibiting galectin proteins. GM-CT-01, the Company's product candidate for cancer therapy, is a linear polysaccharide polymer consisted of mannose and galactose that has a defined chemical structure and is derived from a plant source. GR-MD-02, the Company's product for treatment of liver fibrosis and fatty liver disease with inflammation and fibrosis, is a polysaccharide polymer possessing both linear and globular structures, which also is derived from a plant source.
GM-CT-01 has in development for the therapy of colorectal cancer and is in a Phase I/II clinical trial as a combination therapy with a tumor vaccine in patients with advanced melanoma. Based on the completed Phase I and partially completed Phase II clinical trials, the Company is exploring two additional potential indicia for the use of GM-CT-01 in combination with cancer chemotherapy. There are two additional pathways for the development of GM-CT-01 for use in treatment of cancer. GM-CT-01 was found to be generally safe when studied in a Phase I clinical trial in end-stage cancer patients with multiple tumor types alone and in combination with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), which is an Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved chemotherapy used for treatment of various types of cancer.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Galectin Therapeutics (GALT) offers drug research and development to create new therapies for fibrotic disease and cancer. This stock closed up 9.6% to $12.06 in Monday's trading session.
Monday's Volume: 674,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 222,171
Volume % Change: 149%Shares of GALT jumped higher on Monday after Ascendiant initiated coverage on the stock with a buy recommendation.
From a technical perspective, GALT spiked sharply higher here with strong upside volume. This stock has been uptrending for the last three months, with shares ripping higher from its low of $3.95 to its recent high of $13.21. During that move, shares of GALT have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of GALT within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if GALT manages to take out Monday's high of $12.44 and then once it clears its 52-week high at $13.21 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in GALT as long as it's trending above some near-term support levels at $11 or at $10 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 222,171 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then GALT will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $13.21, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $15 to $16.
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