Kinetic Concepts

Infobox_Company
company_name = Kinetic Concepts, Inc.
company_
company_type = Public (nyse|KCI)
foundation = San Antonio, Texas, USA by Jim Leininger,1976
location_city = San Antonio, Texas
location_country = USA
key_people = Catherine M. Burzik, President and CEO
Ronald W. Dollens, Chairman of the Board
industry = Medical devices, Medical technology
products = VAC Therapy, Therapeutic Support Systems
revenue = US$1.61 billion profit(2007)
net_income = US$237.1 million profit (2007)
num_employees = 6,300 (2007)
company_slogan = The Clinical Advantage
homepage = [http://www.kci-medical.com/ www.kci-medical.com]

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (nyse|KCI), (KCI) is a multinational corporation American medical technology company with headquarters in San Antonio, Texas.

Market segments

KCI operates in two market segments:
* Support surfaces for hospital beds to address pulmonary complications of immobile patients
* Advanced treatment when wound healing is difficult or problematicKCI commercialized the world first Negative Pressure Wound Therapy system: VAC Therapy.

Earnings

KCI reported a revenue of $1.6 billion in 2007, an increase of 17% compared to 2006. For the full year of 2007, net earnings were $237 million, up 21% from $195.5 million in the prior year. Net earnings per diluted share for 2007 were $3.31, an increase of 23%. [http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=BW&Date=20080129&ID=8104308&Symbol=KCI] KCI is listed in the S&P 500.

Locations

KCI has offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The EMEA (Europe Middle East Africa) head office is in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and the APAC (Asia Pacific) head office is located in Singapore.

Corporate history

KCI was founded in 1976 in San Antonio, Texas, USA by Dr. Jim Leininger, an emergency room physician who was concerned that patients would often survive serious physical trauma, only to develop life-threatening bedsores as the result of their immobility. Keeping the patients mobilized was therefore key to their survival. Dr. Leininger launched an air-suspension support bed called KinAir. This in time led to the development or acquisition of a patented line of therapeutic specialty beds, surfaces and related devices including the RotoProne , AtmosAir 9000 and the FirstStep. KCI also sells a broad range of bariatric products, focused on caring for the obese patient.

In 1995, KCI launched the V.A.C. Therapy System, which is intended to help promote wound healing while helping to decrease length of stay and incidence of complications. [Augustin M., Zschocke I., Nutzenbewertung der ambulanten und stationären VAC-Therapie aus Patientensicht, MMW-Fortschritte der Medizin Originalien Nr. I/2006 (148. Jg.), S. 25–32] [Armstrong D.G., Lavery L.A., Negative pressure wound therapy after partial diabetic foot amputation: a multicentre, randomised controlled trial, Lancet 2005; 366: 1704-1710] [Philbeck TE, Schroeder WJ, Whittington KT, Vacuum-assisted closure therapy for diabetic foot ulcers: clinical and cost analysis, Home Health Care Consultant 2001; 8(3): 26-34] The GranuFoam and WhiteFoam dressings are an important part of the delivery of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT), also known as Topical Negative Pressure (TNP). V.A.C. Therapy is supported by a large database of clinical evidence. [http://www.kci-medical.com/kci/corporate/clinicalevidence/]

In 2005, KCI launched V.A.C. GranuFoam Silver Dressings. In 2007, KCI launched the next generation of V.A.C. products: ActiV.A.C. for use in the homecare setting and InfoV.A.C. for the acute care environment.

In February of 2004, KCI became a publicly listed company and is since listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol KCI.

Acquisition of LifeCell

In early April 2008, KCI announced its intention to acquire LifeCell, a leader in dermal tissue regeneration and reconstruction (with products that include AlloDerm and Strattice) in a non-hostile transaction for $1.7 billion. LifeCell will become a wholly owned subsidiary of KCI during the second quarter of 2008. Its CEO, Paul Thomas, will become President of the LifeCell division of KCI. LifeCell's headquarters will remain in Branchburg, New Jersey.

ee also

*Negative Pressure Wound Therapy
*Pressure ulcer

References

External links

* [http://www.kci-medical.com Official KCI Site]