Medtronic to put UPI out of business with Advanced Uro-Solutions?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/medtronic-acquires-advanced-uro-solutions-133201292.html

Medtronic plc (MDT) today announced that it has acquired Advanced Uro-Solutions, a privately-held developer of neurostimulation products for the treatment of bladder control issues based in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Terms of the acquisition agreement, which closed in December 2014, were not disclosed.

Advanced Uro-Solutions develops and manufactures the NURO(TM) percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation system, which consists of a small external stimulator and a single, reusable lead to provide temporary stimulation to the tibial nerve. This therapy is 510(k) cleared by the FDA to treat patients with overactive bladder (OAB) and associated symptoms of urinary urgency, urinary frequency and urge incontinence. Medtronic is preparing to launch the NURO system in the U.S. within the next 12 months.

More than 37 million adults in the United States - one in six - suffer from OAB.1,2 By 2018, it is estimated that 546 million people worldwide will be affected by OAB.3

"The acquisition of Advanced Uro-Solutions expands Medtronic`s portfolio of treatment options for those suffering from chronic symptoms of overactive bladder," said Linnea Burman, vice president and general manager, gastro/urology therapies at Medtronic. "Medtronic continues to invest in fully-implantable bladder control and bowel control therapies, and the addition of the NURO system to our existing portfolio of products will introduce more people suffering from bladder control issues to the benefits of neuromodulation."

Since 2009, Advanced Uro-Solutions has been led by two founders, Dr. Brent Laing and Dr. John Green.

"Studies show that roughly 80 percent of patients prescribed oral medications to treat their OAB symptoms have stopped taking them at 12 months, and Medtronic shares our commitment to advancing neuromodulation and increasing patient access to advanced solutions intended to treat their symptoms," said Dr. John Green, former chairman and CEO of Advanced Uro-Solutions. "We are excited to take this step toward making this important therapy available to patients around the world."

Medtronic developed and leads the field of neuromodulation, the targeted and regulated delivery of electrical pulses and pharmaceuticals to specific sites in the nervous system. The company`s Neuromodulation division includes implantable neurostimulation and targeted drug delivery systems for the management of chronic pain, common movement disorders, spasticity and urologic and gastrointestinal disorders.

Medtronic will include revenue from the Advanced Uro-Solutions product line as part of the Neuromodulation division within the Restorative Therapies Group segment. The transaction is expected to meet Medtronic`s long-term financial metrics, and the annualized earnings impact of this acquisition is not expected to be material.

About Medtronic
Medtronic plc (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the global leader in medical technology - alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people around the world.

 

Holy Smokes! A direct competition.

Stimulates the tibial nerve, and designed with the same principle as the UPC. And this product comes with a reusable lead set. The only single use things are the acupuncture needle and the patch, costing less than one dollar. You simply pay MDT on a per basis and you can recharge your use account electronically……brilliant idea.

I think this is going to give our company a run for our money. I wish I would have known about this before I joined the company not too long ago. So now the question is how can we compete against this mighty, deep-pocketed company. Before we know it, our $14 million of business could go poof.

And what is our future? I do not think Vision Sci is the answer, at least it is not giving me good vibes as I speak about it to the Docs. They can't see plucking down $40,000 for the product.

Mr. Kill, what are you getting us into? Is this a sinking ship, and time to bail out?

 

Smarten up you filthy moron. Kevin Roche just bought 50,000 shares of Uroplasty. Do you think for a moment...no, a goddamn nanosecond...that he didn't know that Medtronic bought NURO back in December when he bought his Uroplasty shares. Of course he knew. It's a small business community. What does that tell you? Does that tell you that Uroplasty is going out of business because of this purchase? Of course it doesn't! Jesus, you people...

 

Surely you are not suggesting that he had insider knowledge and ACTED on it when he bought the 50,000 shares.....If so, then you have not heard the end of the troubles with the SEC and lawyers.

Also you must be thinking that medtronic is a dumb company. you suppose with the investment they made they will sit on their butt while Uroplasty grows its business? And when it comes going head-to-head, which of the two you think will come out ahead. Just watch Medtronic the elephant will rumble over this cockroach. Are there more morons like you in the company who cannot think.

 

It is hard to think through logically if moron-like people try to make their points with moranic logic. Let us look at this logically.

Medtronic has a much wider reach to the uros and urogynes than Uroplasty. Plus there is no doubt that Medtronic will undercut Uroplasty on pricing. There are no lead sets involved with their product and there is no shipping cost involved to the customer. They could easily cut the price of each treatment by about $25 and, I suspect, most of that would be cost savings they would be passing on to the customers, so why wouldn’t they do that.

Do you think Medtronic owes Uroplasty any favors, or do you think if they see a way to drive out competition they wouldn’t do it? Grow up you morons when you answer this question.

And what would happen under such or a deeper price reduction scenario? Medtronic would still make a profit on every sale of their NURO treatment and be gaining market share. Uroplasty, which is losing money and running out of cash, will go in a deeper hole, and if it tried to match the price the hole will be even more deeper.

Uroplasty’s response of a price match would lead it to a slow death, or if no price match, it would lead it to a fast death. Loss of market share and death in either case. Can you morons think of a different response from Uroplasy that could save it from loss of market share and death?

Medtronic has sales of $17 Billion and profit of $3 Billion, and is hording $14 Billion of cash. Uroplasty’s has far fewer zeros at the end of its numbers. Uroplasty has sales of about $25 million and LOSING $5 million, and its $12 million of cash is fast depleting – a devastating position to be in in this head to head competition.

Medtronic can get in an ever bigger price war than the scenario I describe above and make it even more devastating for Uroplasty. I understand you Minnesotans are nice people and Medtronic is supposed have deep Minnesota roots, but don’t expect your Minnesota-nice to bail you out.

Any of you morons have a response with a better logic?

 

Uroplasty is a floating turd in a cesspool of competitors. By comparison, MDT is in the same cesspool, but has a larger footprint of shit floating. MDT's boofu crushes Uroplasty's boofu and leaves behind a diffused debri pool of sinking corn and seeds. End of story. Moral of the story, they swim together, but will never directly oppose each other

 

Let me see if I have this straight. Medtronic has now acquired a PTNS device - the NURO and is planning to mount a major effort this year to take over this market. From what I can find out the NURO is 1/10 the size of the UPC and given the very low cost of the disposables - the NURO will generate net sales margins of +99%. So they can price the cost of a treatment at much less than the UPC and still make a significant profit. I saw a video online of the NURO being used and it is a lot more functional than our UPC - it attaches to the ankle and looks much simpler to use. I have not be able to get back on the Advanced Uro-Solutions web site (guess it was taken down after Medtronic bought them).

Never mind that the NURO looks like it was purchased at the Apple store and makes the UPC look like an antique.

So the largest and most successful company in all of the medical device industry has a new PTNS device that makes our UPC look clunky and tired. It looks like it will be highly profitable and I wonder what happens when they use their stellar reputation and hit this market with 10 times the sales force and a massive global presence.

What does our company Uroplasty do when we can not increase sales and have little hope of even hanging on to the our current providers. What happens to a company that has lost money every quarter for 20 years starts to lose money even faster with no chance to recover.

Oh I know the answer - time to touch up my resume.

 

My contacts at Medtronic tell me that they plan to use the NURO patients as a feeder pool for their interstim. And to do that they are willing to practically give away their NURO or price it attractively at well below Uroplasty’s UPC, and still come out well ahead by selling additional high-revenue, high-profit-dollar contributor interstims.

It remains to be seen if this is how it unfolds, but their strategy makes a lot of sense.
The big question is what are Uroplasty’s plans to handle this onslaught of fierce, take-no-prisoner competition.

An even bigger question is what is my future with this company? Rob please talk to us directly like the adults we are and tell us what you got going to compete against Medtronic.

 

To: CEO, Uroplasty
From: CEO, Medtronic
Subject: Thanks

Thank you for spending all that money on PTNS clinical trials and publishing the results.

Thank you for spending money to bring awareness on PTNS to physicians and patients, and developing the PTNS market, this in spite you never made a dime of profit doing this. We all know that you have poured a lot of money in sales and marketing to do this. That 43-person sales force supported by half as many sales support and marketing people must have really set you back. All this heavy lifting and no profits to show for it. Oh my. I do feel your pain.

Thank you for spending all that money, time and effort to get a unique code for PTNS treatment for OAB. I know that was a very difficult period for your company. You had an old code that got withdrawn and had to re-launch the UPC when you got the new code. I know those were very tough times for your company and all that work took a big bite out of your cash. But you did a nice job of hanging in there. Good for you.

Thank you for spending all that money to get coverage from Medicare and private payers for PTNS treatment for OAB. We like the idea that you were subsequently able to get coverage for maintenance treatments as well. I have to commend your Reimbursement folks for doing yeomen work.

With all this work you did, you made it sooo easy for us to walk in with our NURO System and we will soon dominate the market. And we love you for this.

Now we want you to continue the clinical studies you are doing for fecal incontinence. Please spare no time, effort or resources to get this through the FDA and have the good folks in your Reimbursement department get nationwide coverage from Medicare and private payers for fecal incontinence. They know the drill by now so it should be an easy slam dunk for them. I know this will chew up a big chunk of your cash, but then you are so accustomed to burning cash given your almost 20-year history doing so. And please know that we are rooting for you, really.

Seriously, we couldn’t have asked for a better friend and a bosom buddy.

Did I ever mention that we love you? My solemn promise to you is that we will love you till death does us apart, which, I am sure you realize may not be too far out in the future for your company.

With death not too far out for your company, I know you can find a good hospice (or we can recommend one) where you will be provided with all the dignity you deserve in your dying days. Have you already prepared the last will and testament for your company? If not, it might be a good idea to get going. You know there is a bit of urgency in this matter. It is better to have after-death matters sorted out now, don't you think? Just call us if you need any help with this. We have put many small companies through this drill in the past. Is there anything special you would like to have inscribed on your company's grave marker?

We do feel sorry for all the orphans you will leave behind, but understand that we can’t help them because we are not in the charity business. I pray that those orphans get gainfully employed very quickly.

You do know by now that we really, really looove you.

 

Very witty post!
In all seriousness - the entry of Medtronic into the PTNS market is devastating for us.
We can not compete with the better product, better price and better marketing and sales resources of Medtronic.
I do not see what RK and the management team here at Uroplasty can do to save us.

It looks like time for me to head towards the door.
Would the last person to leave Uroplasty please turn off the lights.

 

I would say that the smart ones know that there will be no inheritance for them, so they are probably already making alternate arrangements and will not get caught becoming orphans. But I cannot say the same about the many who are still drugged on that Kool Aid they have been unwittingly fed. You know, once drugged, the withdrawal symptoms are terrible to handle, forcing them to want more of the drug. Those unfortunate souls will end up being orphans until they complete their rehab.

 

To: CEO, MDT
FROM: CEO, UROPLASTY
SUBJECT: You do not know how to play this game.

I appreciate your concern for me and the very insightful observations you shared with me, but for a CEO of a $17 Billion Company, you do not know how this game is played. I am very disappointed in you, my bosom buddy.

Did you know that I have a very favorable employment contract, shareholders be damned. Even if we lose our PTNS business to you as you suggest, I will come out fine, thank you. And that is before other things I have up my sleeve that would sweeten my compensation plan. I am no fool.

Just examine my employment contract. You will envy it. You couldn't have negotiated better terms for your employment contract. Buddy, you just do not know how to play this game. The shareholders had voted down my compensation plan, a very unusual occurrence for any company, but that did not phase me. Shareholders be damned. What do they know? You just need to be thick-skinned. You gota know how to play this game.

Did you know that buried somewhere in the very fine print in the proxy for the merger with Vision Sciences is stated that my new employment contract is not yet negotiated, and will not be until after the merger is complete. I am no fool. I wouldn't want the shareholders to vote down the merger on such trivial matters as my new compensation plan, which I assure you will make me very pleased. Shareholders be damned. On the other hand you were upfront with your new compensation plan under your merger with Covidian. Look at the brouhaha that created and almost killed your merger. You must be very naive. You just do not know how to play this game.

Next time you negotiate your employment contract, I will be happy to give you a few tips on how to screw the shareholders. You lack the skills to negotiate a "heads I win, tails you lose" employment contract. Did I tell you that for a CEO of a $17 Billion company you just do not know how this game is played, so I, the CEO of a $25 million company, will be happy to mentor you.

You know that sometimes when people tell you the truth, it hurts. I know, because I speak from recent experience, but do not let that bother you, for I, your friend and bosom buddy, will always be there till death does us apart to show you how this game is played.

 

Time to exit this dump of a compay now!!!

 

I hear you - wonder if Medtronic is hiring - would love to sell the NURO - it solves all of the issues I face every day selling the UPC.
Does anyone know if our employment agreement at Uroplasty would prevent us from working for the Medtronic NURO team.
Seriously - want to get out ahead of what is coming for Uroplasty and need to know if they can stop me from selling a much better product (NURO) to my current providers.

 

Hey Dum Dum, no one is going to sell NURO. MDT is going to give it away. MDs will use it as a gateway to get pts who fail (most) to try interstim. Please, MDT didn't buy it bc it was better than our PTNS, they bought it to help them sell more Istim implants. They don't care about pts, just about dropping more of those pacers. truth

 

I think your argument makes a lot of sense on how MDT can capture a lot of revenue-generating interstim patients by giving away for free the NURO. If that is the case, tell me how can Uroplasty’s urgent PC compete against the NURO, an identical product, for which the docs do not pay anything, or maybe pay a token amount?

 

We don't

 

get used to it kiddo. say bby-by to our $15 million of UPC business. the sooner you accept it, the sooner you will be prepared to face reality

 

STFU and get to work you crybabies. Worry about something you can actually control. Good grief. This whining is beyond pathetic. Move on down the road.

 

I see That you are bankrupt with ideas on how to compete against medtroni as you choose to ignore to address the main issue and instead resort to name calling those of us who are raising a Legitimate issue. Here is a chance for you to redeem yourself. So wHat is your answer on how you think we can compete when they start undercutting us with deep price reduction on ptns?