Siemens to buy diagnostics firm

Siemens Medical Solutions will acquire healthcare product developer Diagnostic Products for about $1.86 billion, reports Modern Healthcare.

The deal has been approved by both companies` boards but still needs regulatory and Diagnostic Products shareholder approval. Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the matter at midyear.

Diagnostic Products markets automated systems for diagnostic tests, primarily immunoassays, a technique that detects and measures a specific antigen (a substance, foreign to the body that stimulates the production of antibodies by the immune system).

Several major US healthcare foundations are funding a $4.5 million, three-year programme to speed adoption of electronic health records in California community clinics and health centres, reports Biz Journals.

The funders will work over the next three years to develop "at least three" centralised support hubs that will supply technology, technical support, vendor management and other services that community clinics typically require for adoption of electronic health record systems but can`t afford on their own.

In addition, the Cisco Systems Foundation will loan the project a senior management fellow to provide technical support and lead the design effort.

Kodak`s disappointing 2006 first-quarter earnings means that some internal restructuring decisions have been taken, the first being the prospected sale of its $2.7 billion Health Group, according to Forbes.

The medical-imaging unit of the company has been underperforming and sales were down 7% to $585 million and earnings plummeted to $46 million, compared to $78 million.

The move to sell the health group, which manufactures both silver halide and digital technology, is somewhat surprising: As recently as February, Kodak`s CEO Antonio Perez, was flaunting Kodak`s medical imaging technology at the Winter Olympics in Torino.