Maker of automatic external defibrillators, Cardiac Science Inc. announced on Monday that General Electric Co. has agreed to extend its multi-year distribution deal with the firm. Even though the financial terms of the deal were not divulged, shares of Cardiac Science shot up by 48% to $1.20 and finally settled at $1.14 in midday trading on Nasdaq.

As per the new agreement, GE healthcare will market the Powerheart brand of the automated defibrillator manufactured by Cardiac Science to hospitals present in the USA and Canada. In addition, GE will also reassign its existing distribution agreement to a new corporate entity created by the imminent merger between Cardiac Science and Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. An automated external defibrillator is a machine which provided an electric shock to regain the heart’s rhythm.

According to Raymond W. Cohen, Cardiac Science chairman and chief executive, it will be the first time that Cardiac Science will be competing for a share of the lucrative traditional in-hospital external defibrillator market. He said that in the US itself, several hundred million dollars worth of these defibrillators are being currently purchased each year to replace older models.

AED’s and Defibrillators For Sale

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 15th, 2005 at 9:48 am and is filed under AED News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.