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Health Care Women First acquires rights to market antibiotics

Children’s, Palomar Sign Three-Year Deal for Pediatric Care in N. County

San Diego-based Women First Health Care Inc., which markets health care products to middle age women, recently acquired exclusive U.S. rights to market a product line for certain urinary tract infections.

Women First said on Oct. 15 it paid $6 million for the marketing and inventory rights of Bactrim, a line of antibiotics made by Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in Nutley, N.J.

Bactrim is the latest of four products Women First has added to its portfolio in the last 10 months.

Annual sales of Bactrim by La Roche were in the $2.5 million range, Women First reported.

Susan Dub & #233;, senior vice president of corporate development at Women First, said the company doesn’t offer sales estimates for individual products.

“We are always looking for products and are actively discussing a number of opportunities right now,” she added.

Attractive products would include pain treatments, hormone therapy and those dealing with infection management, she said.

Women First has built a business around buying promising but under-promoted products from larger pharmaceutical firms and reselling them to their niche clientele.

For 2000, Women First reported a loss of $22.6 million, or $1.29 a share, on revenue of $27.1 million.

Charles Caporale, vice president and CFO at Women First, said he expects the firm to break even in the fourth quarter of this year and become profitable next year.

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Children And Palomar:

Children’s Hospital and Health Center in San Diego and Escondido’s Palomar Medical Center recently joined forces in pediatric care.

Starting Nov. 1, 32 pediatricians and 60 family practitioners will be able to refer noncritically ill children to Palomar’s Medical Center’s 23-bed pediatrics unit.

Gerald Bracht, vice president and administrator of Palomar Medical Center, said he has been talking to Children’s about a partnership since he joined Palomar 18 months ago.

On Oct. 15, the Palomar Pomerado Health board of directors unanimously approved the alliance.

The three-year contract calls for Palomar to emulate Children’s policies and procedures in providing pediatric care and work together with Children’s specialists under the clinical direction of Dr. Wendy Wright, the new medical director and a joint staff member, Bracht said.

Bracht called the contract a “win-win situation” for both health care providers. Palomar gains expertise from Children’s staff as well as patient referrals.

“This allows allows better access for families (living in North County) and physicians,” said Tamara Hemmerly, spokeswoman for the Palomar Pomerado Health.

For Children’s, the premier pediatric care provider in town, the contract is likely to mean less “risk of running out of beds,” he said.

Seriously ill children will continue to receive care at Children’s Hospital in Kearny Mesa.

Hemmerly said the joined pediatric unit is expected to add net income between $10,000 and $100,000 during the first year.

Send health care news to mwebb @sdbj.com.

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