Manrex completes first Canadian sale of Pentapack drug packaging system to Fraser Health Authority
March 25, 2008

Automated dispensing equipment to be key component of centralized dispensing facility for lower BC mainland.

With the sale of the first Pentapack packaging system in Canada, Manrex Limited has strengthened its position as a leading Canadian supplier of medication delivery systems and automated drug packaging equipment.

Pentapack is an advanced line of automated packaging equipment, originating from Pentapack NA Corp of Belgium. Pentapack packages single doses of medications in oral solid, liquid, or gel formats. It also “overpackages” syringes and glass ampules, sealing products in fully labelled and bar-coded unit dose packs.

The system easily handles batch sizes from 100 up to 100,000 units or more, packaging up to 280 units per minute. It is ideal for health authorities such as Fraser Health in British Columbia, which operates a centralized drug distribution centre providing service to eleven site pharmacies within Fraser Health’s network of 12 hospitals, serving a population of 1.5 million residents in the BC lower mainland.

“As the pharmacy becomes increasingly dependant on decentralised automation for drug distribution, we needed to supplement our current equipment with a high speed packager capable of producing a small package size for oral solids. Pentapak not only meets this need but also provides options for liquid packaging and over-pouching in the future. We anticipate that Pentapak will allow us to expand our current packaging services to meet acute-care demands of approximately 40,000 units daily and free other equipment for residential care, patient-specific packaging.” says Linda Morris, Regional Pharmacy Manager, Support Services, Fraser Health.

“We are pleased to have made the first Canadian sale to Fraser Health,” says Manrex Sales Manager Ben Szuuts. “Fraser Health is a perfect candidate for this packager and I am excited they are leading the way! The Pentapack is an excellent solution for health authorities with the need to bulk fill medications into individual unit dose packages. One of the main advantages is the packages produced by Pentapack fit into decentralized cabinets such as Pyxis and Omnicell, which isn’t often the case with many other forms of unit dose packaging.”

Szuuts explains that the individualized blister packs are fully labelled with a bar code, a description of the medication and the expiry date. Pentapack protects each individual dose and prevents potential contamination from contact with other medications when it is transferred into the medication cabinets at the various nursing stations. Any hospital that in the future may be considering decentralized cabinets or bedside charting, involving scanning of medications prior to administration, should consider Pentapack as it allows them to package all types of medications into a uniform unit dose system.

“It is a secure way to handle individual doses with the ultimate benefit of enhanced patient safety,” Szuuts says. “For hospitals and other institutions with a need to bulk fill prescriptions, the Pentapack system offers an innovative, economical and time-saving solution. It’s a good fit with Manrex’s line of medication delivery systems designed to get the correct medications to the correct patient at the correct time.”

Manrex Limited is a 100% Canadian company with more than 30 years experience in medication delivery systems. Manrex has developed many of the systems that are currently in use within the medication delivery field today and is continually seeking technologies and products that improve health care and patient safety. The company’s commitment to better patient care has made Manrex a proven leader in the field, offering the most efficient, most effective, innovative and complete medication delivery system available.

For more information contact:
Ben Szuuts
Manrex Limited
bszuuts@manrex.com
800-665-7652

Companies spawned by city research centres
August 9, 2007 From The Winnipeg Free Press

Written By Martin Cash

The Winnipeg company that makes an expensive automated machine that fills intravenous bags and syringes has just hired one of the top U.S. experts on handling hazardous drugs.

Intelligent Hospital Systems has about 40 employees and has enough customers for its robotic IV automation system (RIVA) to sell out its 2008 production run at about $1 million each. Its CEO, Kevin McGarry, figures they will sell about 50 by the end of the year.

Not too far away from IHS's brand new production facility near Kenaston and McGillvray boulevards, another medical technology company, IMRIS (which used to stand for Innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems), has recently moved into a large space formerly occupied by Gendis Inc.

IMRIS has close to 100 people on the payroll, several with post-graduate degrees, including its vice-president of technology, Steve Huschek, who has a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Both companies are experiencing a flush of success after many years of expensive development with the certainty of commercial viability only a recent phenomenon.

Success in the globally competitive medical-device field almost automatically brings with it the ability to recruit world-class talent. These high-tech Winnipeg operations prove that attracting the best people from around the world has more to do with the quality of jobs than where the company is located.

Both of these Winnipeg companies have grown out of research based at a couple of the city's research centres -- IHS from the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre and IMRIS from the National Research Council's Institute for Biodiagnostics.

The research and development process was a process lasting more than 10 years and on top of the difficult challenges in continuing to finance development before there were any paying customers, it also required a certain amount of luck to keep them in Winnipeg.

IMRIS has developed a surgical imaging system for use in brain surgery and spinal and soft-tissue procedures and has the only system of its kind in the world designed so that the magnet moves over the patient for imaging and then is retracted to allow complete surgical access to the patient.

After its successful demonstration in Calgary's Foothills Hospital earlier this decade and new ownership led by Winnipeg technology entrepreneur David Graves arrived in 2005, IMRIS has ramped up operations dramatically. It has installed about a dozen units all over the U.S. -- with a pricetag of about $5 million each -- and is in the process of designing new applications and configurations that will expand its marketing potential even further.

The NRC wasn't as lucky when it came to its other most successful spin-off company, Novadaq Technologies. Another company that has developed imaging technology that surgeons can use in the midst of operations, it moved its operations to Toronto about five years ago primarily to be closer to investors and potential investors.

But in addition to IMRIS and IHS there are several smaller Winnipeg medical and technological device companies in the works including another spawn of the NRC that will make smaller, less expensive magnetic resonance imaging machines that would be marketed to communities not large enough (or rich enough) to afford the larger multi-million dollar versions.

The creation of companies like these is a lengthy, costly, risky process that requires luck along the way.

But these are the companies that create the kind of jobs a city like Winnipeg needs keep pace with the world. Nothing breeds success like success so maybe the next round of medical device companies will find the road just a little shorter and less dirty.

Innovative Weight Management System Now Available in Canada
August, 2007

The Diet Plate®
www.thedietplatecanada.com

The Diet Plate®, the simple, inexpensive tool for weight management that has taken Europe by storm, is now available in Canada. Made of high quality earthenware with lines that delineate proper portion sizes for carbohydrates, meats and vegetables, The Diet Plate is distributed in Canada by Manrex Limited.

The appeal of The Diet Plate lies in its simplicity, says Wendy Rand, Director of International Business with Manrex. “The Diet Plate allows the user to eat the same food as the rest of the family, but in the appropriate quantity to meet their weight management goals,” Rand says. “Obesity researchers indicate it is portion control as much as food choice that is the key to successful weight management. With The Diet Plate, users manage their calorie intake, which is a key factor in weight loss and in improving blood sugar control for Type 2 diabetics.”

Scientists in Europe and North America have validated the efficacy of The Diet Plate. University of Calgary endocrinologists demonstrated that a significant number of study participants who used the Diet Plate for six months lost at least 5 per cent of their body weight- an amount shown to reduce the risk of death associated with obesity-linked disorders including cancer and heart disease. In addition, Type 2 diabetics using the Diet Plate were able to reduce and even eliminate their medication.

The Diet Plate can be ordered from Manrex by calling toll-free 1-800-665-7652 or at www.thedietplatecanada.com

The University of Calgary research report summary is available at www.ucalgary.ca/news/june2007/portioncontrolnewsrelease

Children's Miracle Radiothon
March 2007

The Children’s Miracle Radiothon took over the airwaves of Winnipeg radio stations QX 104 FM and HOT 103 FM in March of 2007 to raise funds for our local Children’s Hospital Foundation. Manrex Limited jumped at the chance to participate in the Miracle Match program in which all donations made by employees, their families and friends would be matched dollar for dollar. This year, the Children’s Miracle Radiothon raised over $590,000.00 for the foundation.

Central location contributes to business success

Manitoba Spirited Energy website
www.spiritedenergy.ca

As second generation co-owners of a successful business in the health care industry, John Webster and his sister Fiona Webster can't say enough about why Manitoba is the place to be for their business.

"We've been approached to move our business to the States," says Fiona, CEO of Manrex Limited. "Manitoba has allowed us to grow our business in ways that I don't know we could have elsewhere. The cost of doing business is lower here."

" In bigger centres it may be more dog-eat-dog, but in Manitoba growth is all about the greater good of the community."

Since purchasing their father's medical supply manufacturing business in 1991, Manrex's income from international customers has grown from one per cent to 20 per cent of their total revenue.

"Our central location allows us to ship to and travel to locations from coast-to-coast at the same relative cost," explains John. "We can be just as responsive to Vancouver as we can be to Halifax."

The connectivity between businesses in Manitoba is another major selling point, according to the co-owners of Manrex. "Manitoba businesses want to see each other succeed," says Fiona. "The sense of community between businesses is great — there's only a few degrees of separation."

John agrees. "If you are looking to connect with a supplier, or a partner, someone you know can always refer you to someone they know. There's always people to work with. In bigger centres, it may be a bit more dog-eat-dog, but in Manitoba growth is all about the greater good of the community."

One thing that is uniquely Manitoban is the balance between business opportunity and quality of life," contends John. "You can run a successful, international business here, and still afford a great lifestyle, and the time to enjoy it. We have all the benefits of metropolitan infrastructure, while housing is extremely affordable," he adds.

"People are starting to hear about Manitoba," says Fiona, "and we're getting great attention for building and attracting the best."

Click here to be directed to the Spirited Energy website.

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