Diprivan® (Propofol) injection, an anesthetic, is the company’s first smart-labeled product with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and the 20 mL vial is now available in this enhanced presentation in the U.S. The smart label enables hospitals to automatically identify, locate and manage their inventory. Fresenius Kabi expects to introduce numerous other products with RFID technology in the coming year.
Quirónsalud, the Spanish hospital group that is part of Fresenius Helios, has signed an agreement with Vincci Hotels to offer health careto guests in all accommodations in Spain. The service includes 24/7 medical assistance, either by video call, in person or by a doctor’s visit in the hotel, if necessary. This service is offered in several languages to meet the demands from international guests.
The price increase for hospital services in Germany has been set at 2.53% for 2021. As it is subject to negotiations at the state level as well as individual hospital discounts, the final price increase on the individual hospital level will, however, be lower.
Fresenius Helios has published initial results from a study of all COVID-19 patients admitted to Helios hospitals in Germany that has been conducted since the start of the pandemic: Two of every three COVID-19 patents in intensive care in Germany require mechanical ventilation. One-third of ventilated intensive care patients die, compared with one-quarter of non-ventilated intensive care patients. This shows that the clinical course of COVID-19 patients in Germany is as poor as in countries hit harder by the pandemic such as Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Helios, supported by the Brandenburg Medical School, started in February to collect and analyze data on COVID-19 patents treated in the Helios’ 86 German hospitals. These and additional findings that Helios makes from the study are expected to help in the development of a treatment for the virus.
Beginning in Q4 2020, Fresenius Kabi will introduce smartlabels with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for medications frequently used in the operating room in the U.S. The smart label enables hospitals to automatically identify, locate and manage their inventory. The first products in the smartlabel portfolio are anesthesia and analgesia products in prefilled syringes and vials.
The Berlin-based digital health company Curalie, a subsidiary of the Fresenius healthcare group, has entered a cooperation agreement with the “Wir für Gesundheit” quality medical care network and the health insurer Debeka. In the first step, a prevention app through which regular medical check-ups can be carried out, along with other functions, will be added to PlusCard. A supplementary company health insurance that companies can offer to their employees, PlusCard was jointly developed by “Wir für Gesundheit” and Debeka and has been offered since 2014. Additional digital components are planned for the prevention app, including a telemedicine function for the care of chronically ill patients.
Helios Germany has published its first sustainability report. Oriented to the internationally established standards of the Global Reporting Initiative, this 60-page document outlines the four main target groups and areas that Germany’s largest private hospital operator has defined for its sustainability strategy: Patients, employees, the environment and compliance. Along with numerous statistics and examples from Helios Germany hospitals, the report sets out the company’s goals for its future development. Titled ”Für eine gesunde Zukunft” (toward a healthy future), the report is now available in German on www.helios-gesundheit.de. An English version will be published soon.
Fresenius will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on August 28, 2020 as a virtual event. Originally, the AGM was scheduled for May 20, 2020. It had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. As it is currently impossible to predict for how long the restrictions for large public events will be in effect, Fresenius will use the option provided by the German legislator to hold a virtual event to safeguard the health of shareholders, employees and service providers.
The proposed dividend by the General Partner and the Supervisory Board remains unchanged at €0.84 per share entitled to a dividend.
Shareholders will be provided the possibility to follow the entire AGM on the internet. Fresenius will include further details in the AGM invitation that is to be published in the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) and on the corporate website in July.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of clinical trials, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. Fresenius does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.
Morphine Sulfate Injection is now available in the United States in the company’s Simplist™ ready-to-administer prefilled syringes in MicroVault packaging. MicroVault packaging is designed to support the secure dispensing of controlled substances, for example via transparent hard plastic packaging allowing bar code scanning and visual inspection as well as a tamper evident seal.
Following the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization, Fresenius Kabi Propoven 2% is now available in the U.S. Propoven 2% is a higher concentrated dosage form of propofol compared to Fresenius Kabi’s FDA-approved Diprivan® 1%, providing clinicians with another sedation option for ventilated COVID-19 patients. The higher concentration presentation allows Fresenius Kabi to support more patients through more efficient use of existing manufacturing capacity.