My.. what a week it's been!
I just found this. It's two days old tho, but a little detail
on that forum last weekend.
Amy
Healthcare Companies at Forum Powered by Innovation
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 1998-- Technology and innovation are
factors that will drive above-market returns in healthcare stocks over the long-term, said Mike
Yellen, portfolio manager of the GT Global Healthcare Funds and keynote speaker at the Informed
Investors Healthcare Forum March 7 in Sacramento.
A set of audiotapes of full presentations at the Forum, the only healthcare investment conference in
the country specifically for individual investors, can be purchased for $28.95 including shipping and
handling. Call Informed Investors (www.informedinvestors.com) at 800-992-4683.
Yellen's address capped a morning of presentations by healthcare companies and focused on
opportunities for investors in the healthcare sector. ''A lot of healthcare stocks -- particularly
devices, products and drugs -- are driven by the same fundamentals as traditional tech stocks,
namely, R&D spending and innovation. New products create new markets, they don't replace
existing ones,'' Yellen said.
Yellen pointed to refractive laser surgery company VISX (Nasdaq:VISX - news), one of the
presenting companies at the conference. ''Here's a company with virtually monopolistic patents,
royalty streams that drop almost straight to the bottom line, and a market that's just begun to be
tapped,'' Yellen said.
Responding to a question about the impact of refractive surgery on the contact lens market, Tom
Bender, CEO of Cooper Companies (NYSE:COO - news), another presenting company, said, ''We
complement each other. No way are they (VISX) going to do procedures on a 125 million people, but
it'll damn sure be more than the 200,000 they did last year. As the fact that the amount of
contact-lens wearers and ex-contact-lens wearers are equal illustrates, we have a stream of new
users too. The bottom line is convenience, which is different for everybody and changes as we age.''
Presenter Sola International (NYSE:SOL - news), a major supplier to Lenscrafters and other
eyewear retailers, also sees a bright future. Deborah Tuerk, Director of Investor Relations, said,
''We address the multi-focal segment of the market, which is not going away.''
Access Health, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACCS - news), the conference's lead-off presenter, expects to
continue growing by vertically integrating its existing ''nurse triage'' service to healthcare insurers
and providers with additional services addressing specific medical conditions. ''The leverage is
tremendous, and no one else is using their clinical capabilities to address ER access and open
access,'' said Matt Plavan, Director of Investor Relations.
Contract sterilizer SteriGenics (Nasdaq:STER - news), which runs irradiation labs for cleaning
medical instruments, is targeting food-treatment too. ''Germ-busting, we call it,'' Said Jim Clouser,
CEO. Asked about public reaction to the concept of irradiated food, or using radiation to eliminate e.
coli, salmonella and other harmful bacteria, Clouser said, ''If you went to the store and you had two
choices of chicken, 'salmonella-free' and 'other', which would you want?''
Since 1993 Sacramento, Calif.-based Informed Investors has featured scores of quality companies
and industry experts at its Forums. Informed Investors Forums represents individual investors who
collectively hold an estimated $1.5 billion in investable assets.
Contact:
Informed Investors, Inc.
Bob Taylor/Tim Quast, 916/448-8222 |
