Healthcare Technology Featured Article

July 08, 2011

ResMed Buys BiancaMed To Branch Out in Sleep-Disordered Breathing Challenges


ResMed Inc., a company which helps chronic sufferers of sleep-disordered breathing and other respiratory disorders, announced today that it has acquired BiancaMed Ltd., an Irish medical technology company, according to a press release posted at prnewswire.com.

ResMed develops, manufactures and distributes medical equipment for treating, diagnosing and managing sleep and respiratory disorders, according to the press release. At the heart of BiancaMed's proprietary technology is a motion sensor that can detect respiration and movement without touching the human body.

According to a story at emedicine.medscape.com, the term “breathing-related sleep disorder” can refer to chronic or habitual snoring to upper airway resistance syndrome to sleep apnea or, in the case of those who are obese, “hypoventilation syndrome, excessive weight pressing against the chest wall, which causes the inability to take a deep breath, leading to fatigue, heart disease, swelling of extremities, and even death, because these people can stop breathing several times during the night, according to medlineplus, a part of the National Institute of Health.

ResMed paid cash for all of BiancaMed's outstanding shares and BiancaMed will become a part of ResMed's newly-created Ventures and Initiatives unit, as reported in the story at prnewswire.com

The acquisition makes sense because BiancaMed’snon-contact device monitors sleep and breathing in the home and hospital, according to the press release.  “BiancaMed's SleepMinder™ is an accurate, touch-free device that measures sleep and breathing with sophisticated biometric software,” the press release says.

Researchers at the University of Arizona, C.M. Baldwin and S.F. Quan SF, note at pubmed.gov that people who suffer from sleep-disordered breathing have more illnesses and a poorer quality of life than people who don’t, and to make it even worse, they’ve been largely overlooked (and under-treated) by healthcare providers.

BiancaMed is also developing other applications for the medical and consumer markets, according to the press release.   “ResMed estimates the acquisition will dilute ResMed's earnings per share by approximately $0.04 in fiscal year 2012, excluding amortization of intangibles and one-time acquisition related costs,” the press release explains the deal.

"We are committed to innovation in sleep and respiratory medicine and the related co-morbidities by commercializing products incorporating novel technologies," said Dr. Peter Farrell, ResMed's chairman and chief executive officer, in the press release. "We have worked closely with BiancaMed for many years and have been investors since its inception in 2003. BiancaMed has exciting technology and a world-class team. We believe there are many opportunities for BiancaMed's applications that will provide future growth, and we look forward to maintaining and building the BiancaMed team."


Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Rich Steeves
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