$3.7 Billion
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 16,300

“It is easier to judge the mind of a man by his questions rather than his answers.”
— Pierre-Marc-Gaston, duc de Levis

Albert Einstein loved asking questions.

His theory of relativity, in fact, is reportedly rooted in a simple, almost child-like query: What if I rode a beam of light across the universe?

Great question.

Although he is widely regarded as a genius, Einstein never considered himself exceptionally intelligent. “It’s not that I’m so smart,” he once quipped, “but I stay with the questions much longer.”

Clearly, Einstein considered questions and curiosity as keys to learning.

Those keys have been a staple in Karen Hallwyler’s professional life for more than three decades, using them first to help her students unlock their aptitude for the French language, then later on herself to make better healthcare decisions.

“Asking questions is the only way you learn,” Hallwyler states matter-of-factly.

Indeed, it was only through proper questioning that Hallwyler determined the best way to manage her chronic urinary retention, the aftereffect of a 1998 bladder operation. Although she quickly learned to self-catheterize several times a day, Hallwyler became frustrated with the lack of customer service from the catheter manufacturers and/or suppliers she was using.

“I had tried several other catheter companies through the years and I wasn’t happy with any of them,” the retired French teacher recalled in a Vimeo video. “I had no help from any of the companies as far as usage, any questions, or any ideas on different tips to make it easier to use.”

Then, one day in 2013, Hallwyler saw a television ad for Liberator, a U.S. provider of direct-to-consumer medical supplies focusing primarily on sterile urinary catheters, urological supplies, and ostomy devices. Intrigued, Hallwyler  thought, “What have I got to lose?”

Only resentment, frustration, and discontent, as it turns out. Hallwyler knew immediately—during her first conversation with a Liberator representative, actually—that she had made the right decision. “I’ve had the same representative since I started with Liberator in 2013,” Hallwyler noted. “She knows about my health issues, so she calls with ideas when I have questions. There’s nothing I can ask that will embarrass her.”

Last spring, just several months after closing its $181 million merger with C.R. Bard Inc., Hallwyler’s Liberator representative told her about the combined company’s new hydrophilic intermittent catheter, Magic3 Go. Featuring a new coating that keeps the catheter hydrated, the three-layered silicone device is designed to be gentle on delicate urethral tissue.

Excited by the prospects, Hallwyler volunteered to sample the catheters. And she hasn’t looked back since.

“I like Magic3 Go because first of all, I was given some instructions on how to use it,” the retired French teacher said. “Magic3 Go helps me remain very active. I go visit my young grandchildren very often and I still have a passion for French. I’ve had a tutoring business in my home since 2003. [My husband] Jim and I go out with each other every so often just to have a little break and catch up with each other. We go on coffee dates. We’re still best friends after 47 and a half years so we love to catch up with each other. The Magic3 Go catheter has helped me maintain a very active lifestyle and a very happy lifestyle. And as they say en français, ‘la vie est belle.’ ”

Life certainly is beautiful these days for Hallwyler, who maintains her schedule of tutoring, family visits, and coffee dates via Bard’s Magic3 catheters. The devices, in fact, have been a blessing to both patient and company, as they contributed to a 15 percent net sales growth in basic drainage products last year. That gain helped push Bard’s Urology business above its 2016 guidance range with a company-high 13 percent year-over-year sales increase (revenue totaled $951.8 million). Growth in continence products and urological specialty devices also had a hand in the segment’s solid performance.

ANALYST INSIGHTS: Bard was acquired in May by BD for $24 billion. Known for being a medical technology leader in the fields of vascular, urology, oncology, and surgical specialty products, Bard has a healthy innovation pipeline that fits global markets and will provide strong international sales channels to BD. How the integration between these two companies is managed has the opportunity to either create a super mega healthcare company or to see divesting of some of the acquired assets to other companies around the world to focus on BD’s core strategy.

—Dave Sheppard, Co-Founder and Principal, MedWorld Advisors

Bard’s Vascular business performed near the top of its guidance range in 2016 (year ended Dec. 31) due to strong global demand for the Lutonix 035 DCB, a drug-coated balloon designed to elute an anti-stenosis drug during inflation inside narrowed arteries. The product received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pre-market approval in October 2014 for above-the-knee peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and expanded reimbursement a year later from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Last fall, the FDA granted the company a supplemental investigational device exemption to change the six-month endpoint in a clinical trial of the Lutonix 14 balloon treating below-the-knee PAD. About 340 patients are already enrolled in the trial.

Vascular revenue rose 5 percent to 1.01 billion, with 8 percent gains in endovascular sales offsetting a 2 percent decline in grafts proceeds.

“When we look at each of the businesses on a constant currency revenue growth basis,” Chairman and CEO Timothy M. Ring told investors earlier this year, “one business performed near the top of our guidance for the year and the other three all performed above the range we provided, with two of those well above the range.”

The other business performing well above the guidance range in 2016 was Surgical Specialties, which expanded net sales 11 percent to $637.3 million. Growth was driven mainly by the company’s self-absorbing hernia repair portfolio, with some assistance from new products like the CapSure Permanent Fixation System, a device designed for laparoscopic and open surgical procedures; and the Arista AH absorbable hemostat, a surgical hemostatic powder derived from purified plant starch that is used to help control capillary, venous, and arteriolar bleeding.

The Oncology segment exceeded its 2016 guidance as well but did not keep pace with its Urology and Surgical Specialties brethren. Net sales swelled 8 percent to $1.01 billion on strong demand (particularly outside the United States) for dialysis products, ports, peripherally-inserted central catheters, and midline catheters.

All segments’ guidance overruns set the stage for an overall memorable performance for Bard in 2016, its last year as an independent company (it was acquired in April this year by Becton, Dickinson and Company for $24 billion). Net sales grew 8.7 percent to $3.71 billion and net income nearly quadrupled, going from $135.4 million in 2015 to $531.4 million last year. Diluted earnings per share also skyrocketed, increasing nearly five-fold to $7.03.

“Net sales for the full-year 2016 was up 9 percent as reported, and up 10 percent on a constant currency basis compared to our original guidance of 6 percent to 8 percent constant currency growth for the full-year” Ring said on a conference call with analysts in January. “This strength across our portfolio contributed to 7 percent organic growth for the full-year compared to our original guidance of 5 percent to 6 percent. 2016 was an outstanding year of sales execution for us.”

$3.4 Billion
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 14,900

Kicking off the year with focus, C.R. Bard rode the wave that crested at the end of 2014 with its U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Lutonix 035 drug coated balloon (DCB) catheter into 2015. In February last year, the company entered into a distribution agreement with Marlborough, Mass.-based Boston Scientific Corp. for the device, an angioplasty balloon coated with a therapeutic dose of the drug paclitaxel, designed to decrease the incidence of restenosis and improve patency in patients with stenosed femoropopliteal vessels, often seen with peripheral artery disease. Boston Scientific won the right to distribute the balloon in the United States, which significantly expanded Bard’s reach.

C.R. Bard has had a good working relationship with Boston Scientific—in November 2013, Bard sold its electrophysiology division to the Massachusetts device company.

Later last year, Bard won a much coveted approval of expanded reimbursement for Lutonix from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The purpose of the reimbursement is to cover additional costs to U.S. hospitals for treating Medicare beneficiaries with the Lutonix DCB in the outpatient setting. After further review, CMS determined that costs associated with DCBs were not included in existing reimbursement for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, stenting, or atherectomy procedures. Therefore, CMS removed the device offset charge from the calculation and will reimburse the full cost of DCBs in these procedures. The reimbursement determination, which was granted in June, became retroactive to April 1, 2015.

Then in August, CMS approved a new technology add-on payment for Lutonix under the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system. This time, the expanded coverage covered hospital costs for inpatient users of Lutonix.

Overall, 2015 was the year of Lutonix for C.R. Bard, culminating in a report of the 12-month results from the Lutonix Global Real-World Registry at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2015 meeting. These results came just months after New England Journal of Medicine published one-year data from the Lutonix 35 DCB catheter pivotal, randomized LEVANT 2 trial. In this registry study, the Lutonix 035 DCB demonstrated a freedom from target lesion revascularization (TLR) rate of 94.3 percent in femoropopliteal arteries at 12 months in 631 patients. Based upon interim data from 170 patients (who were early enrollees), a freedom from TLR rate of 93 percent at 24 months was also achieved.

But did all this translate to cash? The short answer is yes; out of the four main product divisions at Bard—vascular, urology, oncology, and surgical specialties—vascular showed the biggest 2015 net sales growth at 9 percent. “To date, the results [of the first full year of selling Lutonix] have exceeded our expectations,” Chairman and CEO Timothy M. Ring, and President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Weiland said in the company’s 2015 annual report. “We are pursuing additional indications and variations on the platform that we anticipate will broaden its application even further.”

Also in 2015, Bard acquired Vascular Pathways Inc., a Boca Raton, Fla.-based developer and supplier of vascular access devices, and began to sell the Accucath intravenous catheter system. This, along with Bard’s peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and Powerglide midline family, allowed the company to offer a comprehensive line of guidewire-assisted peripheral devices to a broad spectrum of patients with vascular access needs.

In January 2016—after fiscal year 2015 ended on Dec. 31—Bard acquired Stuart, Fla.-based Liberator Medical Holdings Inc., a direct-to-consumer distributor of durable medical equipment. The acquisition of Liberator enhances Bard’s access to the growing home care market—specifically for intermittent self-catheterization products—including the company’s recently introduced Magic3 Go self-lubricating catheter and Hydrosil Rose intermittent catheter, which is designed specifically for female patients. Bard is focusing on home health, which, according to Ring and Weiland, will become increasingly important as the aging population embraces healthcare in the home setting.

Based in Murray Hill, N.J., Bard’s 2015 acquisitions have given it a significant presence in Florida, which has a vibrant and growing medical device environment.

Bard didn’t experience many major personnel shifts in FY15, but it did slightly expand its board with the addition of Robert M. Davis, executive vice president and CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. He serves on the Audit, Finance, and Science and Technology committees. While there were no changes to the senior management team, Bard did realign certain senior roles in order to facilitate company growth plans. John P. Groetelaars was promoted to group president and added Bard Access Systems to his existing responsibilities for Bard subsidiary Davol in China, Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of Asia. Timothy P. Collins, group president, added Bard Medical Division to his existing responsibilities for Worldwide Operations, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South Africa. Jim C. Beasley, group president, assumed responsibility for subsidiary Medicon Inc. and for driving the new market development process across Bard to enable and accelerate its growth in new and developing markets. Beasley continues to be responsible for Latin America, Bard Peripheral Vascular, and Lutonix. Christopher S. Holland, senior vice president and chief financial officer, assumed responsibility for business development, corporate marketing, reimbursement, healthcare economics, and strategy.

Beasley’s charge of Medicon emerged from Bard’s acquisition of the company last year. Until 2015, Bard and Japanese firm Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. had a 50-50 stake in Medicon, an Osaka, Japan-based joint venture that the two companies have operated together since 1972 through a share redemption. In September, the companies agreed that Bard would acquire Kobayashi’s share in the company. According to a statement from Bard, the company believes that future growth opportunities in Japan will come from more clinically differentiated market segments, including peripheral vascular and vascular access. Therefore, the company believes the time is ripe to take a more direct role with Japanese clinicians and patients.

Net sales grew 3 percent in 2015 over the previous year—$3.42 billion over $3.32 billion. As mentioned above, the vascular business performed best, helped along by the performance of Lutonix. Urology products comprised 25 percent of net sales: basic drainage product sales rose 4 percent on a constant currency basis; continence and urological specialties increased 2 and 1 percent respectively; and catheter stabilization products remained—pardon the pun—stable. Oncology products constituted 27 percent of net sales, with PICCs and midlines net sales growing a robust 11 percent over 2014. Under the surgical specialties business, which made up 17 percent of net sales, performance irrigation products took a nose dive, with a 28 percent decrease in sales on a constant currency basis.

$3.3 Billion
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 13,900

Climbing two spots from last year on our list of top companies, C.R. Bard Inc. continues to grow slowly and steadily. In the beginning of FY and calendar year 2013, the company announced a three-year strategic investment plan involving emerging markets and new product categories, which CEO Timothy R. Ring said the company would “aggressively pursue.” Fiscal 2013 saw a string of acquisitions that contributed to Bard’s short-term success while laying the groundwork for future growth, and FY2014 saw a significant expansion in international markets.

Zacks analysts observed that the plan is coming along nicely, pointing out that fourth-quarter results of 2014 reflect that the strategic investment plan has begun to generate returns. Indeed, for the fourth quarter 2014, net sales in the United States were $591.6 million and net sales outside the United States were $275.6 million, an increase of 14 percent and 1 percent, respectively, over the prior-year period. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, fourth quarter 2014 net sales outside the United States increased 5 percent over the prior-year period. Net sales for the full year 2014 were $3.42 billion, an increase of 9 percent over the prior-year period.

“As anticipated in our strategic investment plan, our emerging market sales continued to increase and, by the end of 2014, represented about 9 percent of our total revenue,” Ring said in the company’s annual report. “Overall, about a third of our worldwide sales representatives are now located in emerging markets. We are seeing higher productivity from our international teams as they become more established and broaden their scope and capabilities. Today, 65 percent of our global work force is located outside the United States. We have expanded our international product offerings and have a pipeline of existing products that await regulatory approval in new markets. In fact, last year, we registered 192 new products internationally.”

Early in 2014, Bard authorized a share repurchase plan of $500 million in stock, in addition to approximately $55 million remaining under the company’s prior authorization. This helped Bard’s earnings per share numbers which rose from $6.51 in FY2013 to $8.40 in FY2014, an increase of 29 percent.

In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Lutonix drug coated balloon PTA catheter for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, after pre-dilatation, for the treatment of de novo or restenotic lesions up to 150 mm in length in native vascular disease of the superficial femoral or popliteal arteries with reference vessel diameters of 4-6 mm—a success which added to the almost 200 new products registered internationally under Ring’s watch. The approval gave the company a strong position as it is, according to Bard, the first and only FDA-approved drug coated balloon available in the United States for the treatment of femoropopliteal occlusive disease. The American Heart Association estimates that peripheral arterial disease, a life-threatening condition, affects at least 8 million Americans.

“The Lutonix balloon serves as a good example of how we intend to shift the mix of our portfolio to faster revenue growth categories,” Ring said. “We first acquired a potential game-changing technology platform, invested in further development and clinical research, and then became the first-to-market in the United States in a new fast-growing segment through careful and diligent execution.”

This approval bolstered Bard’s vascular device portfolio, which boasted a 12 percent growth over FY2013 with net sales of $928.3 million (see included chart for more details). This business was also affected by two significant events: in 2013, Bard sold its electrophysiology (EP) division to Boston Scientific Corporation, which led to a seemingly huge drop in EP sales for Bard; secondly, in 2014, C.R. Bard began collecting royalty payments from medical equipment supplier W L Gore & Associates Inc., with which Bard has been having a years-long patent dispute with over blood vessel graft technology that Bard claims Gore unlawfully used. The collection on royalties comes after an almost unbelievable 40-year battle in which Bard alleged Gore attempted to patent a technology that was rightfully its own to claim. That was in 1974. In 2001, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued the patent to Bard. Bard then sued Gore for past infringement, and in 2007 a jury found that Gore’s stent and vascular grafts willfully infringed and awarded Bard $185 million. In 2009, the judge added an ongoing royalty, which Gore has paid into escrow at a rate of $120 to $140 million per year while the case proceeded. In October 2013, U.S. District Judge Mary Murguia allowed Bard to collect the portion of the judgment dealing with the finding of infringement that is not subject to appeal, which totals $854 million and includes past damages and an ongoing royalty. Her finding of willfulness was upheld on appeal, which will add more to the award amount.

This year, Bard is focusing on the commercialization of Lutonix, as well as continuing its thus far successful investment and growth strategy.

“As we move into 2015, we remain focused on the execution of this investment plan,” Ring said. “By continuing our efforts to expand into faster-growing geographies; invest in research and development (R&D) in faster-growing product segments; and acquire new growth platforms, we expect to continue to shift the mix of our product portfolio toward faster, sustainable growth and profitability.”

$3.05 Billion
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 13,000

“Success is a journey, not a destination.”
—Ralph Arbitelle

Success has become quite a fluid concept over the last few millenniums. Its definition has been in constant flux virtually since the dawn of civilization, forever shifting to accommodate different eras and cultures. Some ancient societies, for instance, measured success through education while others tied it to athletic or military prowess. Medieval nations, on the other hand, linked success to religion, whereas the modern industrial world uses money (or economic growth) to determine outstanding achievement.

Throughout its various incarnations, success has assumed different meanings, a major contributor to its ever-changing nature. Perhaps one of the best interpretations came from author John Watson: “Success,” he wrote nearly a decade ago, “is the completion of anything intended.”

By that measure, then, Timothy M. Ring achieved overwhelming success last year, having fulfilled his intention of delivering top- and bottom-line growth to medical equipment manufacturer C.R. Bard Inc. In 2012, Ring—Bard’s chairman and CEO—outlined a multi-year growth plan that called for the Murray Hill, N.J.-based firm to accelerate its expansion into fast-growing regions; significantly increase its research and development investment; and broaden its product portfolio through acquisitions.

“Thanks to our healthy free cash flow generation, a strong balance sheet and the significant cash infusion from our patent lawsuit with W.L. Gore & Associates Inc., this year we had the ability to make several important, strategic moves in these areas while still returning over $800 million in value to shareholders through stock repurchases and dividends,” Ring and Bard President/Chief Operating Officer John H. Weiland told investors in the company’s 2013 annual report. “We are now one year into our plan and we are pleased with our progress so far. As we have often said, we measure success over the long term, and we are confident that the moves we made in 2013 will have a positive impact on our future results.”

Those moves proved beneficial in the short term as well: Net sales rose 3 percent to $3 billion and net income surged 30 percent to $689.8 million. The initiatives also helped boost sales in three of the company’s four product categories, with only Vascular posting a 2 percent shortfall. Surgical Specialties performed best, reporting a 10 percent sales hike to $499 million—a gain attributable mainly to the whopping 133 percent increase in biosurgical product proceeds. Oncology sales  jumped 6 percent to $857.1 million, while Urology leveraged a 31 percent increase in targeted temperature management devices to offset lost continence product and catheter stabilization revenue, ending the year 2 percent ahead of 2012 at $776.6 million.

Robust gains in under-developed regions in 2013 helped Ring keep his promise to accelerate Bard’s emerging markets expansion—in 2013 (year ended Dec. 31), thepercentage of sales from emerging markets swelled to 8 percent, and total foreign proceeds climbed 4.5 percent to $1 billion.

A string of acquisitions also contributed to Bard’s short-term success while laying the groundwork for future growth. The $39.4 million purchase of privately held startup Loma Vista Medical Inc., for example, bolsters Bard’s intellectual property position in fiber-based balloon catheters and gives it access to a strong pipeline of synergistic technologies, including the True Dilatation balloon catheter, a highly tear-resistant device that can be inflated to pressures up to 6 atm/bar.

Likewise, the $29.5 million purchase of early-stage peripherally inserted central catheter technology from Indianapolis, Ind.-based 3DT Holdings LLC expands the company’s oncology portfolio and strengthens its relationship with clinicians. 3DT is eligible for milestone payments of up to $5 million based upon regulatory product approval.

Bard bought Rochester Medical Corp. for $262 million to grow its share in the lucrative urology home care market, a sector worth roughly $930 million worldwide. The Stewartville, Minn., company develops, manufactures and sells disposable home-use medical catheters and devices for urological and continence care, and is considered a rising player in the broader, $800 million global market for intermittent self-catheters.

“We believe that strengthening our position in the home care market, and specifically the large and fast-growing intermittent self-catheter segment, is strategically important at this time,” Ring said.

Another strategic win came with the $203.7 million purchase of Medafor Inc., a Minneapolis, Minn., developer and supplier of plant-based hemostatic agents. The move augments Bard’s surgical specialties portfolio (particularly surgical hemostats) and positions it well for improving its share of the $1.4 billion surgical hemostats market.

Ring also remained true to his strategic growth plan by divesting the company’s electrophysiology business to Boston Scientific Inc. for $275 million in cash.

$2.96 Billion
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 12,200

“Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things, distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.”  
— Thomas Carlyle

Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn’t the most brilliant glint or even the slightest bit consistent, but its intensity and durability were irrelevant compared to the hope it represented for C.R. Bard Inc. executives last year. For many bigwigs, the light—however dim and discontinuous—symbolized the potential end of a near 40-year descent into the rabbit hole of patent jurisprudence.

“This should be the final curtain of the saga,” a federal judge wrote last winter in deciding to uphold a $371.2 million patent award for the Murray Hill, N.J.-based company. “We cannot revisit the facts anew, nor meander through the record and select facts like our favorite jelly beans, nor characterize the facts as the Bard would in a Shakespearean tragedy.”

C.R. Bard’s modern-day dramaturgy opened in 1974 when it accused fluoropolymer manufacturer W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. of violating its vascular graft technology patent. Gore, of course, denied the allegations, contending its own engineer came up with the material.In 2007, an Arizona jury sided with Bard in the dispute, noting the company first applied for the vascular graft technology patent in 1974. Jurors awarded the firm $185.6 million for lost profit and unpaid royalties but the trial judge later doubled Bard’s total payout.

Not surprisingly, Gore appealed the Arizona jury’s decision but failed to persuade higher courts of its role in creating the fluoropolymer. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider the company’s appeal earlier this year, leaving intact the jury’s verdict that with interest, royalties and fees, could amount to nearly $1 billion.

While the final act of their melodrama is still being written (an Arizona trial judge currently is revisiting part of the jury award—$185 million for Gore’s intentional patent infringement and related legal fees), Bard bigwigs are encouraged by the most recent legal rulings, particularly the July 2013 affirmation of its invention by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. As they await their final curtain call (which shouldn’t be too far off), executives have begun looking ahead to the special role the jury award will play in the company.

“The potential resolution of the W.L. Gore litigation would provide additional cash that we plan to invest in strategic growth initiatives,” Bard Chairman/CEO Timothy M. Ring and President/Chief Operating Officer John H. Weiland told investors in the company’s 2012 annual report. “These key investment opportunities have been identified, and execution has already started. Our objective with this plan is to improve our core growth rate…”

The plan—which involves expanding into “fast-growing geographies” (a.k.a. emerging markets), increasing research and development investments, and diversifying the company’s product portfolio—improved Bard’s core growth rate in 2012 (year ended Dec. 31). Net sales rose 2 percent to $2.96 billion, net income surged 61.5 percent to $530 million and diluted earnings per share nearly doubled, going from $3.69 in 2011 to $6.16 last year.

International market sales jumped 9 percent in constant currency, with 32 percent growth in emerging markets, including Brazil and China. Bard made considerable inroads in Brazil last year, providing training and clinical support to Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo System nurses using the company’s peripherally-inserted central catheters (PICCs). “Patients have been talking to each other, and they are starting to ask specifically for PICCs,” Luci Ferreira, director of Inpatient Services at the Faculdade System’s Heart Institute, noted in Bard’s annual report. “That gives us extra motivation to learn about PICCs and other access devices.”

Such motivation (and partnership with Bard) likely contributed to the company’s 4 percent growth in Oncology net sales last year. Urology product sales climbed 3 percent to $757.8 million, though only basic drainage devices posted a gain (albeit a minimal 1 percent). Continence product sales fell 8 percent while urological specialty equipment proceeds tumbled 6 percent and catheter stabilization devices slipped 2 percent.

Surgical specialty product revenue swelled 1 percent to $455.1 million. Sealant devices such as topical blood clotting products led growth in this division, with sales soaring 32 percent, according to the annual report. Performance irrigation product proceeds increased 6 percent and sales of soft tissue repair products rose 1 percent.

Vascular products comprised the largest percentage of total net revenue in 2012 (29 percent) but turned in the worst performance. Division sales rose a mere $3 million to $845 million, with only endovascular products sales gaining a lead over its 2011 sum. Electrophysiology and graft device proceeds both fell 6 percent.

$2.9 Billion
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 12,100

According to a financial report released by Zacks Research Group in December 2010, “C.R. Bard’s well-diversified end-markets and vast product portfolio (used in life-saving, less-invasive surgical procedures) insulate it from fluctuations in any single therapeutic category.” The company’s performance for fiscal 2011 (ended Dec. 31) seemed to prove the research correct. Bard develops medical devices in four categories: vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialties. Products range from devices that treat hernias, to stents that prevent blood clots from traveling to the lungs, catheters that reduce hospital-acquired infections, and ports that deliver chemotherapy, reducing frequent needle sticks for children and adults.

Net sales for the year were $2.9 billion, an increase of 6 percent compared with fiscal 2010. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $328 million and diluted earnings per share available to common shareholders was $3.69, a decrease of 36 percent and 31 percent, respectively, compared with 2010 results. Adjusting for items that affect comparability between periods, 2011 net income attributable to common shareholders was $568.9 million and diluted earnings per share available to common shareholders was $6.40, an increase of 6 percent and 14 percent, respectively, as compared with 2010 results.

Out of net sales of $2.9 billion, the Vascular unit generated the largest percentage of sales at 29 percent. A close second was Oncology at 27 percent, after which was Urology with 25 percent and Surgical Specialties at 16 percent.

Another new device that pumped up Vascular sales was the newest addition to the Finesse Ultra breast biopsy family, the Finesse Ultra 10 probe. The device is a hand-held system that performs vacuum-assisted biopsies, and is designed to take multiple samples via a single insertion method while also delivering larger tissue samples.

New products were not the only trick up Bard’s Vascular sleeve, though. There was significant growth in the peripheral stent business, driven by advancements in the treatment of lesions in the superficial femoral artery (SFA). According to the company’s annual report, Bard’s LifeStent device is the only stent on the market indicated for SFA. The company’s Crosser CTO Recanalization Catheter that was purchased in 2010 has filled an unmet need in the lower limb arterial disease space. According to the company, the catheter enables physicians to penetrate hardened blockages in blood vessels, restoring blood flow with the help of angioplasty.

Furthermore, Bard purchased Lutonix Inc. in December just before the close of the financial year. Lutonix is the manufacturer of Lutonix DCB, a new drug-coated balloon catheter (DCB) for peripheral and coronary interventions. “Its drug-coated balloon technology could ultimately be a game-changer in [the vascular] area,” said Weiland and Ring in their letter to shareholders, noting that the Lutonix DCB is the first and only DCB under an investigational device exemption from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—meaning the device is permitted to be used in a clinical study in order to collect safety and effectiveness data required to support a premarket approval application or a 510(k) submission to the agency.

Bard’s second most profitable segment, Urology, saw most of its growth and impact outside the United States. There were few new devices to boost Urology in FY2011, with the unit gaining its strength from previously released, strong performing devices. Since its release in 2009, the DigniCare Stool Management System has performed well. Bard expects the new product in this family, the DigniShield SMS device, to perform well for 2012.

In the fourth quarter of FY2011, Bard purchased Medivance Inc., which manufactures therapeutic hypothermia devices. This is a new product space for Bard, and is a growing market segment in general. The American Heart Association, the American Stroke Association, the Brain Trauma Foundation and various international medical associations have issued therapeutic hypothermia guidelines as the clinical data supporting targeted temperature management has grown.

As for Oncology, Bard rolled out the Sapiens Tip Confirmation System, which purportedly eliminates the need for X-rays to confirm the proper placement of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) for medication infusion. The Sapiens Tip is designed to use the patient’s real-time cardiac electrical activity to help the nurse accurately place the PICC. The device had a 91 percent adoption rate among accounts that evaluated the technology and made a final purchase decision, according to Bard. The system will officially be on the market in 2012.

Surgical Specialties launched the Echo PS Positioning System in FY 2011. The device is used in ventral hernia repairs as a laparoscopic delivery technology. Along with this device, Bard’s Ventralight ST mesh with the Sepra resorbable barrier worked together to boost the growth of the ventral repair space.

In FY2011, the company named Todd W. Garner to the position of vice president of investor relations in February. He succeeded Eric J. Shick, who was named vice president of operations strategic programs. Garner earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and his MBA from the University of Texas —Pan American in Edinburg, Texas. Prior to this appointment, he was director of corporate financial reporting and analysis and vice president and controller of Bard Medical Division. Garner started his career with Arthur Andersen LLP and before joining Bard was corporate controller at Echopass Inc.

Bard executive T. Kevin Dunnigan, the company’s longest-tenured director, retired in 2011. He began his time at Bard in 1994 when he joined the Audit, Executive and Finance Committees. G. Mason Morfit, a partner of ValueAct Capital, took his place on the board of directors. ValueAct is one of Bard’s largest investors. Also retiring in 2011 were Christopher D. Ganser, vice president of quality, environmental services and safety; James M. Howard II, vice president of regulatory and quality systems excellence; and Robert L. Mellon, vice president of strategic planning and business development.

Bard named a new senior vice president and chief financial officer in April 2012, Christopher S. Holland. He joined Bard from Aramark Corp., where he served as senior vice president of finance and treasurer.

Kicking off the 2012 fiscal year, CEO Ring said of the company’s first-quarter performance (period ended March 31): “The results this quarter reflect a good start to the year. While we haven’t seen much change in the U.S. environment, our increased focus and investments in international markets have provided rapid returns and strengthened our growth profile. We remain focused on daily execution of our product leadership strategy to take advantage of current opportunities while positioning ourselves for stronger growth in the future.”

28. C.R. Bard

$2.7 Billion

KEY EXECUTIVES:

Timothy M. Ring, Chairman & CEO

John H. Weiland, President & ChiefOperating Officer

Todd C. Schermerhorn, Sr. VP & ChiefFinancial Officer

Gary D. Dolch, Ph.D, Senior VP, Quality, Regulatory & Medical Affairs

NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 11,700

GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS:Murray Hill, N.J.

C.R. Bard Chairman and CEO Timothy M. Ring was quite candid at the end of fiscal year 2009 when he stated that the company was not satisfied with its financial achievement. Looking ahead, he said, “Our efforts this year have laid a solid foundation for further acceleration in the development and acquisition of new products to drive long-term shareholder value.”

That foundation proved strong enough to launch 37 new products and increase net sales by 7 percent, to $2.7 billion (foreign exchange impact did not affect the increase).

“We achieved record performance in business development, gross margin and sales-force deployment, all key components of our growth strategy,” the company’s 2010 annual report stated. “We delivered strong year-over-year adjusted earnings per share growth of 10 percent while investing in and building for our future.”

Some of those future investments included expansion in China and Brazil, and an increased focus on organic research and development, particularly in the second and third quarters.

Improvement was seen in each of the four quarters in comparison with the previous year. First quarter net sales were $651 million, a 9 percent increase; the second quarter net sales were $674 million, an 8 percent increase; the third quarter net sales were $678 million, a 6 percent increase; fourth quarter net sales were $717 million, a 6 percent increase. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, the increases were 6 percent, 7 percent, 6 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

“Our results indicate that we remain on the right strategic path,” the annual report stated.

Acquisitions and developments in each of the four major product categories helped to facilitate that path.

The vascular segment accounted for 28 percent of the year’s earnings, with net sales of $756 million, up 11 percent from FY09. The segment was bolstered by LifeStent sales, which more than doubled in the preceding two years. The year marked the segment’s entrance into the small-vessel market with UltraVerse, PTA (percutaneous transluminal angioplasty) Balloon Dilatation Catheters. The company also purchased the Crosser CTO (chronic total occlusion) Recanalization Catheter during FY10, a move executives believe broadened the success of the vascular segment as a whole, although specific figures were not available.At the end of the year, the Finesse Ultra Breast Biopsy System for ultrasound-guided procedures, Bard’s first single-insertion, multiple-sample device, was launched.

According to Bard, the breast biopsy market was key for this segment—the SenoRx, Inc. acquisition doubled its biopsy franchise (figures not available) with products including the EnCor vacuum-assisted breast biopsy system and the Contura breast brachytherapy catheter.The third quarter acquisition of the Irvine, Calif.-based company was structured as a merger and cost$200 million.

The urology segment accounted for 26 percent of the year’s earnings, with net sales of $718 million, up 3 percent. The Ajust single-incision sling system in the United States launched, which, according to Bard, strengthened its market position for women’s urinary incontinence devices.The StatLock catheter stabilization line achieved double growth in 2010 (figures not available) despite being prey to similar obstacles encountered by the Bardex I.C. Infection Control Foley catheter line, which felt the burden of reductions in hospitalpatient volume.

The oncology segment made up 27 percent of the year’s earnings, with $725 million, a 7 percent increase from the prior year. Bard acquired the Sapiens electrocardiogram-based catheter tip-confirmation system in the fourth quarter, and it later received 510(k) concurrence in the United States for guidance and positioning of central venous catheters. This new technology contributed to the upgrade of the Sherlock Tip Location System and maximum barrier PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) kits, the primary earner for the segment (figures not available).

The surgical specialties segment was the least profitable segment for the company, but claimed the biggest increase compared with fiscal 2009. The segment, which accounted for 16 percent of the total earnings with 434.6 million, a 12 percent increase. Bard attributes the growth to XenMatrix implant and theAlloMax product sales.

$2.5 billion
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 11,000

The executive team at C.R. Bard Inc. has very high standards.

The company posted a 3.4 percent increase in net sales last year (6 percent on a constant currency basis) and a 10.5 percent jump in net income. In addition, its adjusted earnings per share grew 15 percent and the return on shareholders’ investment improved to 21.9 percent. Considering last year’s deplorable economic conditions, most corporate leaders would be pleased to deliver such solid results to their stakeholders.

Those numbers, however, were not good enough for Bard’s executives. “We are not satisfied with these results,” Chairman and CEO Timothy M. Ring and President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Weiland said in the company’s 2009 annual report. “We spent much of the year carefully assessing our strategies to make sure we were doing everything needed to succeed during this extraordinary period and beyond. Even as we reacted to the immediate challenges posed by the deepest recession in decades, we never lost sight of the long-term goals that define our company: product innovation, market leadership and fiscal discipline.”

Those goals helped Bard attain net sales of $2.5 billion and net income of $460 million. Sales in three of the company’s four product groups posted modest gains in 2009 (year ended Dec. 31), with the Vascular division recording the largest growth. Products in this division, which include atrial fibrillation catheters, biopsy devices vena cava filers, peripheral vascular stents and stent grafts, generated $681.5 million, a 6 percent increase compared with the $643.1 million in net sales the sector reported in 2008. Overall, the division added 27 percent of total net sales to the company in 2009.

Executives attributed the gain in Vascular division sales to pre-market approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for stents and stent grafts, including the LifeStent FlexStar and FlexStar XL Vascular Stent Systems. The devices were approved in February 2009 for the treatment of occlusive disease in superficial femoral arteries and proximal popliteal arteries.

Vascular sales also received a boost from the launch of a new family of tissue markers and the results of a study that concluded the Flair endovascular stent graft maintains the patency of dialysis access grafts more effectively than balloon angioplasty alone.

This year’s vascular sales are expected to be driven by the collaboration between Bard Electrophysiology and Philips Healthcare. The first of several joint products to treat heart arrhythmias—Point Tagging with the EP navigator system—launched in late 2009; more items are expected to hit the market later this year.

Besides the collaboration with Philips Healthcare, Bard’s acquisition of Y-Med Inc. last November is expected to help drive future catheter sales. Based in San Diego, Calif., Y-Med develops and manufactures specialty percutaneous transluminal angioplasty catheters.

The Oncology and Surgical Specialties divisions reported the second-highest sales increase last year, with revenues in both sectors climbing 5 percent. Oncology product sales totaled $678.7 million, while surgical specialty device sales came to $387.8 million, according to Bard’s 2009 annual report. Overall, the oncology division added 27 percent of total net sales to the company last year, while the surgical specialty sector added 15 percent.

Growth drivers in the oncology division included the PowerPICC SOLO catheter, PowerPort Duo dual-lumen port with power injection capability, and a succession of new dialysis catheters—Equistream, Power-Trialysis and Duet. The company also acquired the dialysis business of Spire Corp. in a $15 million deal that executives said strengthens Bard’s position in the split-tip catheter market and provides the company with a strong platform for future product development.

Top sellers among surgical specialties products last year included the AlloMax implant product line of human tissue-derived implants for breast reconstruction after mastectomies, and the XenMatrix implant, which the company purchased from Brennan Medical LLC.

Urology sales remained flat last year, despite the rollout of the Ajust Single-Incision Sling system, a product that treats stress urinary incontinence in women by supporting the urethra. The company’s DigniCare fecal incontinence device gained a double-digit market share in its first year in a new market, but the growth was still not strong enough to overcome a 1 percent decline in overall urology product sales to $700.3 million. Interestingly, though, this division accounted for the highest percentage (28) of total net sales to the company in 2009.

$2.4 Billion
NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 11,000

Executives refer to it as the “Bard way”—consistent growth through smart investments, fiscal discipline and product innovation.

That philosophy has helped C.R. Bard Inc. grow from a small importer of Gomenol (a drug used to treat tuberculosis and other respiratory tract infections) to a global leader in the urological device and surgical specialty product market. Its impact on sales and profit is virtually indisputable: For nearly four decades, the company has increased its annual dividend payout to shareholders, and over the last six years, Bard has posted adjusted earnings per share growth above its target of 14 percent.

“We have generated these results while investing heavily in research and development, sales expansion and business development, and, in turn, Bard’s future,” Chairman and CEO Timothy M. Ring and President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Weiland said in the company’s 2008 annual report. “Our consistent strategy…helped make 2008 another year of impressive performance.”
Impressive, indeed. Net sales grew 11.3 percent to $2.4 billion, and net income totaled $416.5 million, a 13 percent increase compared with the $406.4 million Bard reported in 2007. EPS was up 16 percent to $4.44 and the cash dividends paid per share climbed 7 percent to 62 cents.

Sales in three of the company’s four product groups posted significant gains last year, with the Vascular division leading the charge. This division reported $643.1 million in net sales, a 19 percent increase compared with the $539.6 million the sector posted in 2007. Overall, the division added 26 percent of total net sales to the company in 2008.

Executives attributed the notable gain to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of three stents: the E*Luminexx vascular stent, used to treat patients with iliac artery occlusive disease; the Flair endovascular stent, used to treat stenoses in synthetic arteriovenous bypass grafts; and the LifeStent FlexStar vascular stent, a device that treats occlusive disease in the superficial femoral artery and proximal popliteal artery.

Besides its healthy stent business, Bard’s Vacora vacuum-assisted biopsy device and UltraClip breast tissue marker has enabled the company to move into a leadership position in the ultrasound segment of the $435 million global breast biopsy market. “We are listening carefully to our customers as we design and develop our next-generation biopsy devices, which we think will further raise the bar in this area,” Ring and Weiland said.

The Oncology division reported the second-highest sales increase in 2008. Revenue grew 16 percent to $646.6 million, comprising 26 percent of Bard’s total net sales. Growth in this sector was based largely on existing product sales, though the company’s new magnetic resonance imaging compatible intermediate-sized PowerPort device also added to the company’s bottom line.

Sales and profit in the Oncology division also got a boost from the March 2008 acquisition of Specialized Health Products International Inc., a Salt Lake City, Utah-based manufacturer of safety needles and safety equipment for syringes, catheters, and other disposable medical products. Executives said the $68.4 million merger gives Bard “a full range of devices for port-based therapies.”
The Urology division reported $708.5 million in net sales last year, an 8 percent jump compared with the $658.9 million the segment posted in 2007. Overall, the division added 29 percent of total net sales to Bard in 2008. Growth factors in the Urology sector included continued strong demand for the company’s StatLock catheter stabilization devices, a product line it acquired in 2006, and the third-quarter launch of the DigniCare stool management system, an indwelling lower bowel catheter designed to reduce the risk of skin breakdown, minimize exposure to bacteria and reduce the time and expense associated with fecal incontinence.

Bard’s future growth could be impacted dramatically by the development of technology that could transform the market for peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC). The company is developing electrocardiogram PICC tip confirmation technology, which would allow nurses to place the PICC at patients’ bedsides, confirm its tip location and, potentially, release the patient for therapy immediately, without the need for X-ray confirmation.

Surgical Specialties division sales remained flat last year, despite the launch of several new products. Sales totaled $368.2 million, a miniscule 1 percent increase compared with the $363.5 million hike the company posted in 2007. This division accounted for 15 percent of all net sales last year.
Some of the division’s new product launches last year include the Ventrio hernia patch, which incorporates a proprietary self-deployment ring made of polydioxanone that resorbs as the hernia repair takes hold. Bard also released an enhanced version of its Permasorb resorbable hernia fixation device, and introduced the Collamend FM implant, a biologic ventral repair product designed to promote rapid healing and tissue in-growth for complex hernia repairs.

“$2.2 Billion

KEY EXECUTIVES:

Timothy M. Ring, Chairman and CEO
John H. Weiland, President and COO
Todd C. Schermerhorn, Sr. VP, CFO
Brian P. Kelly, Group VP
Amy S. Paul, Group VP
John A. DeFord, PhD, Sr. VP – Science, Technology and Clinical Affairs

NO. OF EMPLOYEES:

10,200

GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS:

Murray Hill, NJ

The 100th anniversary of C.R. Bard brought with it a most welcome birthday gift: The company achieved a milestone in which it surpassed $2 billion in annual revenues for the first time. Net sales for the company were up 11% to $2.2 billion in 2007, compared with $1.98 billion in 2006. Grateful for being able to build stronger financial growth every year, the company commemorated its centennial by sharing the wealth in a most altruistic way. Employees volunteered to perform 100 “Acts of Kindness” throughout 2007, and they ended up surpassing their original goal by completing nearly 250 acts (eg, food drives, walks to raise money for cancer research, etc.) by the end of the year. It’s only fitting for a company that, once again, met its stated goal of meeting or exceeding its adjusted earnings-per-share growth objective of 14% for its shareholders.

Most of the company’s product groups achieved double-digit sales increases in 2007. The largest contributor was the Urology division, which had net sales of $658.9 million, a 13% increase from $582 million reported for 2006. This division, which added 30% of total net sales for the company in 2007, has had a five-year compound growth rate of 9.4%. The end of the year brought a new launch for this group in the form of infection control endotracheal tubes. Moving forward, the company is focusing heavily on its infection control products, citing the elimination of Medicare reimbursement to hospitals for the treatment of hospital-acquired infections as a strong opportunity for Bard to help customers control costs and improve patient outcomes. Toward the end of 2007, Bard initiated a clinical study of its next-generation Foley catheter and anticipates launching it in 2009.

The next most profitable unit for 2007 was the Oncology business, which added 25% of total sales at $558.5 million, a 16% increase compared with $481.3 million in 2006. This particular division has boasted the largest five-year compound growth rate at 18.6%. In late 2007, Bard launched its PowerPICC Solo catheter, which reduces the need for daily flushing with a saline-heparin solution to prevent clotting and thrombosis. The company’s advanced catheter in specialty venous access technology only needs to be flushed once weekly with saline only. Advancements continue, with the 2008 upgrade of Bard’s proprietary Sherlock catheter tip location system to facilitate use with Bard’s Site-Rite bedside ultrasound guidance system. In terms of acquisitions, Bard purchased the UltraClip breast tissue marker, used in ultrasound-guided breast biopsies, from Inrad, Inc.

The Vascular division, with a healthy five-year compound growth rate of 15.7%, continued to prosper with total net sales of $539.6 million—a 13% increase compared with $479.6 million in the previous year. This business group contributed 24% of the total net sales for Bard. The G2 vena cava filter line was a key growth driver in 2007, and the product recently was cleared by the FDA as a removable filter; later this year, the company expects to follow this up with the clearance and launch of the G2 Express filter. The company also was notably pleased by the 2007 rollout of its HD mesh ablation catheter (and its clinical performance) in Europe and was looking to enter the US market in the future to position Bard as a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of electrophysiology disorders. The more recent launch of the Dorado catheter family also is a strategic move to increase the company’s stance in the standard PTA catheter segment.

Accounting for 17% of all net sales, Bard’s Surgical Specialties business reported flat sales in 2007, with net sales of $363.5 million—2% growth compared with $357.4 million in 2006. However, the five-year compound growth rate for this division has been 9.6%. Notably for 2007, Bard’s Davol subsidiary was granted a license from Genzyme Corp. to market and manufacture its SepraMesh hernia repair product line to its offerings, giving it added ammunition to conquer the estimated $585 million soft tissue hernia repair market. The company also is looking to make inroads in the hernia fixation market with its PermaSorb resorbable fixation device, acquired in mid-2007 from A.M.I. GmbH.

Within all these units, Bard collectively generated $250 million in revenue from business development activities completed within the prior five years.

One of the company’s larger investments in the future was announced in December 2007, when Bard said it would acquire the LifeStent self-expanding, highly flexible, fracture-resistant stent system from Edwards LifeSciences Corp. Bard paid approximately $74 million at closing in January and will pay up to an additional $65 million depending on the achievement of certain milestones (such as regulatory approvals). “The acquisition of the LifeStent product family is a significant strategic addition to our portfolio of non-coronary stent and stent graft products. Pending FDA approval, the Lifestent SFA product, the Flair Arteriovenous Access Stent Graft and E-Luminexx Iliac Stent will together give Bard one of the broadest product offerings for peripheral vascular stenting,” noted Chairman and CEO Timothy Ring at the time of the announcement.

Along with strategic purchases, the company continues to invest in R&D, with $136 million poured into these initiatives (note: this figure includes purchased R&D). Executives reported that 333 patentable ideas were generated, 264 patent applications were filed and 71 patents were issued in 2007.

The investments continue to pay off in 2008, if the company’s first-quarter results are any indication. Net sales were $584 million, an 11% increase from the same period in 2007. The US contribution was $399.2 million (7% growth), while overseas net sales totaled $184.8 million (20% growth). Net income was down, though, at $78,000, compared with $101,600 in the first quarter of 2006. The Vascular and Oncology units posted double-digit gains at 18% and 17%, respectively, and Urology was steady with 9% growth. Surgical Specialties sales were down 4%.

“Despite a challenging quarter in our hernia fixation business, we continue to deliver healthy earnings. These results demonstrate the benefits of a diverse product portfolio and the strength of our vascular, urology and oncology franchises. Our focus remains on sustaining growth through the execution of our R&D and business development strategies,” Ring said.

It appears the company is right on target with meeting this focus, given its March announcement that it would acquire Specialized Health Products International, Inc., a maker of vascular access products, for approximately $68 million. “

$2 Billion
No. of Employees: 9,400

For 2006, C.R. Bard, which develops and markets vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialty products, kept up its momentum with continued double-digit growth. The company reported net sales of $2 billion, an overall increase of 12%. Net income also was up 17%. The rise was aided by continued double-digit increases in three of its divisions.

The oncology unit had the most impressive increase in sales with 19% growth, achieving a total of $481.3 million. Urology products were up 12%, reaching $587.9 million, while sales of vascular products grew 10% to $479.6 million. Sales of the company’s surgical specialties unit rose 7% to $357.4 million.

The company attributed much of its overall success to continued increasing investment in R&D—Bard spent $146 million on R&D in 2006 compared with $114.6 million in 2005, a steep increase from the $53 million spent on R&D in 2001. This steady increase in this type of investment has had a substantial affect on growth, with $500 million in net sales coming from products launched or acquired in the past three years alone. In addition, the company noted that 2006 produced 500 patentable ideas and more than 200 US patent application filings, up 110% and 70%, respectively, from 2005.

In 2006, Bard launched the Sherlock catheter tip location system to help clinicians avoid mishaps when placing a peripherally inserted central catheter in a patient. The complete Sherlock product line continues to expand this year as the company continued to roll out the complete line of products in early 2007 and plans to offer improvements—such as a larger sensing area and an improved user interface—throughout the year.

In other product news, a new disposable version of the Salute fixation system was launched at the end of 2006 to eliminate costs associated with cleaning and re-sterilization of reusable devices. The original product, introduced in 2004, has garnered 25% of the hernia fixation market in the United States alone.

In conjunction with the company’s R&D growth initiative, C.R. Bard opened two new facilities. In 2006, a 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility opened its doors in Humacao, Puerto Rico to support production growth and new product acquisitions. The facility currently manufactures products for the Davol unit, Bard Peripheral Vascular and Bard Access Systems. In early 2007, a 104,000-square-foot sterilization facility opened in Madison, GA to help facilitate quicker sterilization for all the company’s products, as the site’s location is only a few miles from Bard’s global distribution center.

Acquisitions also figured heavily into Bard’s strategy for continued growth. In January 2006, the company acquired self-expanding nitinol stent technology from Gainesville, FL-based Parallel Simulation Technology  LLC. Along with this acquisition, Bard purchased Venetec International Inc., a manufacturer of StatLock catheter securement products, in March 2006 for $166 million. Bard’s medical division, located in Covington, GA, now markets the line.

In similar fashion, Bard formed a strategic allegiance in January 2007 with TyRx Pharma Inc., a privately held company in Monmouth, NJ, for some of its TyRx technologies. TyRx specializes in combination medical products utilizing biomaterials.

At the end of 2006, Bard patched up some unfinished business by reaching a $49 million settlement agreement with Rochester Medical Corporation, a disposable device manufacturer, that filed suit in March 2004 against C.R. Bard and several other companies, alleging anti-competitive conduct in the markets for standard and anti-infection Foley catheters and urethral catheters.

The future looks bright for Bard, if its first-quarter 2007 financials are any indication. For the quarter ended April 24, net sales were $528.2 million, an increase of 13% from the year prior. This year is a major milestone for the company as well: Bard is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

$1.8 Billion ($41.3B Total)
No. of Employees: 8,900

Although net sales for C.R. Bard didn’t match its double-digit gains seen in 2004, the company still managed to push ahead growth by 7% in 2005. The specialist in vascular, urology, oncology and surgical products only increased sales from $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion.

Since 2003, the company has nearly doubled its net income, however, achieving $337 million in 2005. That’s not the only doubling occurring, either. C.R. Bard has more than doubled its R&D investments in the past four years to almost $115 million. Nearly 100 patent applications are pending in the United States, and the company is focusing heavily on product development. To ensure manufacturing of all these new initiatives goes smoothly, Bard executives have been focusing on honing Lean manufacturing concepts and hope to have all of Bard’s plants operating under this system by 2008.

In keeping with these strategies, the company has invested heavily in its Global Product Launch initiative, which was hatched in late 2004. Since 2003, the company has added more than 150 new sales reps, with another 55 sales professionals brought on board in 2005.

Other personnel additions have occurred as well. The company’s board of directors added former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson to its roster in August 2005, and Bard President and COO John Weiland was named a director.

As various opportunities emerged in Bard’s areas of experience, the company seized them by introducing an array of new products. The urology market, comprising 30% of Bard’s net sales, increased 6% last year, thanks to some new products. In particular, the pelvic floor reconstruction market was aided by Bard’s launch of its Pelvicol, PelviSoft and Pelvitex products. In late 2005, the Avaulta biosynthetic support system line of pelvic floor prolapse repair devices was unveiled as well.

Building on its vascular business, which grew 11% in 2005, Bard also released the first peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) indicated for power injection, called the PowerPICC. A newer power version of the 5 French dual lumen PICC was also released and will be followed by a triple lumen PowerPICC catheter this year.

C.R. Bard has also steadily kept its pulse on the hernia market, which is currently worth more than $600 million globally and growing at 10% annually. To stake a share in this market, the company had acquired the Salute fixation system in 2004 and is putting the finishing touches on the next-generation Salute II disposable version. The company also introduced Soft Mesh in early 2006, and is seeking FDA approval for Collamend mesh.

Bard’s surgical division didn’t share in all the good news, though. In January 2006, the company voluntarily recalled its Composix Kugel Mesh X-Large Patch for ventral hernia repair. The recall was reported upon discovery that the device’s plastic coil ring, designed to aid in deployment, may not withstand increased stress associated with certain surgical placement techniques. At the time of the announced recall, the company had received 24 reports of broken rings out of approximately 32,000 units sold since 2002. The product codes involved generated sales of approximately $11 million in 2005, and the company has since noted that it would have to readjust reported sales and revenue numbers.

Other divisions had better results. The oncology market, which includes implantable ports, various catheters and enteral feeding devices, posted 18% gains. The surgical market, spanning soft tissue reconstruction, performance irrigation and hemostasis (among other) products, also reaped a 6% gain.

Based on first-quarter 2006 results, the company will continue its winning streak. Already, sales were up 9%, to $467.5 million.

Timothy M. Ring, chairman and CEO, commented, “Bard is off to a solid start for 2006. Our first quarter operating results were strong and we continue to be pleased with the direction of the company. We were especially productive in the business development area, entering into five transactions this quarter. We remain focused on our long-term growth strategy to enhance shareholder value.”

This year, the company also completed its $166 million acquisition of Venetec International (San Diego, CA) in April, which should increase Bard’s overall 2006 sales with the addition of the StatLock line of catheter securement products. Bard also acquired self-expanding nitinol stent technology from PST, LLC in Gainesville, FL for an undisclosed amount.

Looking ahead, Bard concluded enrollment a few months ago for a clinical trial of its respiratory infection control endotracheal tube, which the company hopes to launch in the first half of 2007.