USA – Siemens Healthineers plans to retain ownership of its ultrasound division, according to an article by Reuters that quoted Siemens executives as reinforcing the company’s commitment to the business.
The article quoted Siemens Healthineers chief financial officer (CFO) Jochen Schmitz as stating the company had no plans to sell the ultrasound division, and in fact was investing in the unit.
“There is no sale process for the ultrasound division,” the Reuters article quoted Schmitz as saying. “We already repositioned the business at the end of last year and are investing heavily in it.“
The ultrasound business develops devices for various procedures, including general scanning and advanced echocardiography.
It has attracted several bids, with the subsidiary calling in JPMorgan to review them, say investment bankers.
Rumors about the status of the ultrasound division within Siemens Healthineers have been swirling since April 2021. News reports at the time speculated that the company was planning to sell the business.
The ultrasound business was valued in 2021 at US$1 billion and racked up €400 million (US$420.84 million) last year, a relatively small sum compared to the company’s other healthcare divisions.
Furthermore, the Reuters article stated that some of the speculation may have been fueled by a statement by Siemens Healthineers CEO Bernd Montag, who noted that with sales of about 400 million euros (US$420.84 million), the ultrasound division was one of Siemens’ smaller units.
The ultrasound business was valued in 2021 at US$1 billion and racked up €400 million (US$420.84 million) last year, a relatively small sum compared to the company’s other healthcare divisions.
Remarking on the company’s stake in the ultrasound space at the time, CEO Bernd Montag said that “we can be in the business, but we don’t have to be.”
The company moved its ultrasound headquarters from Mountain View, California to Issaquah in Washington state in 2020 to finish assembling its ultra-premium ACUSON Sequoia ultrasound system.
Launched in 2018, the scanner has a Deep Abdominal Transducer and high-powered architecture that enables it to image patients of different sizes.
The move to Issaquah, plus the addition of new manufacturing operations, was expected to help the company maintain its strong foothold in the region, where it first set up shop in 1993.
In June, the company donated ten ultrasound units to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, reported media outlet Walta TV.
The government will distribute them to healthcare providers across the country to diagnose COVID-19 cases, as well as communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Siemens enters new partnership with Ohio State
Meanwhile, Siemens Healthineers has signed a new five-year strategic partnership agreement with Ohio State Wexner Medical Center geared around personalized medicine.
Under the deal, Siemens and its Varian radiation therapy division will outfit an upcoming expansion of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCC – James) with imaging and treatment technology.
Scheduled to open in 2023, the new outpatient center will be furnished with Siemens’ Artis Q Ceiling interventional radiology system, as well as Varian’s ProBeam 360° proton therapy and Edge radiosurgery systems.
The west campus facility will also receive the vendor’s Biograph Vision 600 PET system and Somatom Drive and Force dual-source CT scanners.
Furthermore, Siemens will be providing equipment to Ohio State’s new inpatient hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2026.
Three other outpatient facilities in the state in New Albany, Dublin, and Powell will also benefit from the new partnership, which expands on a nearly decade-long relationship between Siemens and OSUCC – James.
The new collaboration also includes a research component. For example, Siemens and OSUCC – James researchers will explore opportunities in radiation dosimetric contouring algorithms for providing tailored results for individual patients.
As one potential objective, the researchers will seek to develop a platform that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with clinical, imaging, and pathology data to drive pathways of care in nearly real time, Siemens said.
In other initiatives, Siemens and OSUCC – James are seeking to expand patient access by co-developing advanced cardiac imaging methods for Siemens’ Magnetom Free.Max midfield, open-bore scanner.
The organizations will also pursue efforts involving vascular robotics by deploying the Corindus CorPath GRX system.
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