Weekend Rounds: Tornier Inc. proposed IPO rocks market

Here are some of the top stories at MedCity News this week: — Tornier Inc. […]

Here are some of the top stories at MedCity News this week:

— Tornier Inc. is planning to test the choppy waters of Wall Street with an estimated $205 million initial public offering, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The orthopedics firm in Edina, Minnesota, which specializes in devices to treat injuries to extremities and small bones, is the third local medical device company in two months to file for an IPO. Medtronic Inc. hasn’t had much luck of late with orthopedics, particularly its spine business. But if Tornier Inc.’s planned IPO comes to fruition, the country’s largest medical device maker could be looking at a huge payday.

— Less than a week before 12,000 Minnesota nurses planned to strike, negotiations between the Minnesota Nurses Association  and six hospital chains in the Twin Cities for a new contract weren’t going well. Wearing bright red, union T-shirts and waving “We care for you” signs, 12,000 Minnesota nurses walked off the job Thursday. How effective was the nurses’ 24-hour strike? Judging from similar labor disputes in California, very effective.

— The Cleveland Clinic is emerging as a leader in the wellness industry. The Ohio institution known worldwide for its heart care may soon also be known for reversing diabetes and high blood pressure — even some cancers — with its public health, employee wellness and integrative medicine practices, as well as its groundbreaking research. Though still a tiny part of what the Clinic does, the wellness practices are part of an innovation culture being driven by Dr. Toby “Delos” Cosgrove, the cardiothoracic surgeon and inventor who now leads the $5 billion healthcare system as president and chief executive.

— Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) plans to expand its specialty pharmaceuticals business by buying Healthcare Solutions Holding LLC for $517 million in cash with the potential to pay another $150 million over three years. Healthcare Solutions Holding is the privately owned parent of operating companies, including P4 Healthcare and its P4 Pathways, that provide software tools, services and data to specialty-care physicians, drug companies and insurers to improve the efficiency of their practices and the quality of patient care. The acquisition could extend Cardinal Health’s reach in the fast-growing specialty pharmaceuticals market.

— A retired Air Force colonel from the Dayton, Ohio, area has filed a lawsuit against the Cleveland Clinic, alleging that a botched prostate surgery at the hospital has left him impotent and incontinent. At issue is who performed a robotic surgery to remove Col. David Antoon’s cancerous prostate gland — an experienced surgeon or a doctor-in-training. Antoon maintains he signed a consent form authorizing only an experienced physician to perform the surgery. The Clinic shot back that Antoon’s lawsuit “contains numerous inaccuracies and we plan to fully respond in the course of the litigation.”

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