Battling for Market Share

Originally Published MX November/December 2002

COVER STORY

For Masimo founder and CEO Joe E. Kiani, the road to market adoption has been long, arduous, and strewn with unexpected potholes.

Interview by Steve Halasey

In early September, Premier Inc. (San Diego), the nation's second-largest hospital group purchasing organization (GPO), awarded a three-year contract to Masimo Corp. (Irvine, CA), a privately owned maker of pulse oximetry systems. The agreement permits Premier's 1500 member hospitals to purchase Masimo monitors within the scope of their purchasing contracts.

Medtech companies are awarded such contracts all the time—but this one is different. For Masimo founder, chairman, and CEO Joe E. Kiani, announcement of the Premier contract came as the culmination of years of struggle to overcome obstacles that had effectively prevented hospitals from adopting his company's products. Foremost among those obstacles were the policies and practices of the nation's GPOs, which included long-term sole-source contracts and pricing incentives for hospitals that purchased goods only from the bundles of products offered by approved vendors.