This Week In Brief: November 9, 2010

Arrow Medical Ltd (Kington, UK) has commissioned a single-use medical device production unit with dedicated UV curing and assembly lines housed in an ISO 13485-certified, Class 10,000 cleanroom. The new space will support the contract manufacture of single-use devices employed in anesthetic, emergency surgery, and cardiac applications.

Halma plc (Amersham, UK) has acquired Alicat Scientific (Tucson, AZ), a manufacturer of mass-flow and pressure technology. Alicat will join the fluid-technology sector of Halma's health and analysis business group, which focuses on the development of critical components for medical diagnostic instruments and other applications.

Novatel Wireless Inc. (San Diego), a provider of wireless broadband solutions, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Enfora Inc. (Richardson, TX), a privately held provider of intelligent asset management solutions utilizing wireless technology and machine-to-machine communications. Enfora offers wireless communications solutions for medical device applications. Both companies are pursuing a similar business strategy of providing customers with integrated solutions and wireless devices that also serve as intelligent platforms for applications and services.

A new joint venture called Venta Medical (Union City, CA) is offering medical and life sciences companies one-stop manufacturing services. A partnership between Delta Pacific Products (Union City, CA) and Venture Manufacturing Group (Santa Clara, CA), Venta Medical provides local turnkey manufacturing resource solutions to both established OEMs and start-ups in need of such services as planning, procurement, production, and distribution. The venture is bringing plastic injection molding, press-to-CER device manufacturing, packaging, and distribution under one roof.