An epidural catheter from medical device company Teleflex (NYSE:TFX) has received 51o(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Arrow FlexTip Plus Closed Tip, Multi-Port epidural catheter is an expansion of the company’s Arrow FlexTip Plus catheter, according to a company statement. The FlexTip Plus design is aimed at significantly reducing complications commonly associated with epidural catheters like transient paresthesia (a sensation of tingling, pricking or numbness of a person’s skin) and inadvertent penetration of blood vessels or the dura, according to the company’s annual report.
Teleflex’s anesthesia and airway management products accounted for 22 percent of the critical care product division’s net revenue in 2011. Critical care, the largest segment of the medical device company that accounts for 66 percent of its business, had net revenue of more than $1 billion last year. The company has been transitioning into a dedicated medical technology company.
Last year, the Limerick, Pennsylvania company agreed to sell its aerospace and cargo business in October for $280 million to an AAR Corp. subsidiary that will help it more than double its profits, according to its full-year earnings report for 2011. It sold its marine business to an H.I.G. Capital affiliate for $121.6 million in March the same year.
