Best Medical Companies To Invest In Right Now

On this day in economic and business history...

Candles, soap, and a bit of serendipity led to the creation of one of the world's most successful business partnerships: Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) . English emigrant William Procter and Irish emigrant James Gamble, who had both traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, for medical purposes in the early 19th century, became business partners and brothers-in-law after each man met and married one of Alexander Norris' daughters. Norris convinced candle-maker Procter and soap-maker Gamble to work together, and the two distinct businesses became one under the P&G brand on April 12, 1837.

Their first year was not easy. P&G not only had to compete with 14 other Cincinnati soap and candle makers, but it had to do so at the beginning of the Panic of 1837, which marked the start of one of the worst depressions in American history, lasting for more than five years. P&G persevered through these tough times (as you might expect) to grow into the world's largest consumer-goods company by the present day. Here's a brief timeline of the company's most notable early events:

Best Medical Companies To Invest In Right Now: Covidien PLC (COV)

Covidien Public Limited Company is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of healthcare products for use in clinical and home settings. It operates its businesses through three segments: Medical Devices, which includes the development, manufacture and sale of endomechanical instruments, energy devices, soft tissue repair products, vascular products, oximetry and monitoring products, airway and ventilation products; Pharmaceuticals, which includes the development, manufacture and distribution of specialty pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, and Medical Supplies, SharpSafety products and original equipment manufacturer products. In May 2012, it acquired Newport Medical Instruments, Inc. In May 2012, it acquired superDimension, Ltd. In June 2012, the Company acquired Oridion Systems Ltd. In October 2012, its Mallinckrodt acquired CNS Therapeutics, Inc. In January 2013, the Company acquired CV Ingenuity. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Covidien (NYSE: COV  ) battles against 3M for market share in the medical devices and supplies arena. Net sales for Covidien's medical devices unit in 2012 were $8.1 billion. The company's medical supplies segment contributed another $1.7 billion in sales. The total of the two business segments nearly doubles that of 3M Health Care.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Covidien Ltd. (NYSE: COV) was started as Buy at Needham & Co.

  Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) was reinstated as Outperform and added to the U.S. Focus List with a new price target of $58 (versus $48.30 now) at Credit Suisse, and it was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $63 from $58 by Sterne Agee.

Best Medical Companies To Invest In Right Now: EntreMed Inc (ENMD.PH)

EntreMed, Inc. (EntreMed), incorporated in 1991, is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. EntreMed's drug candidate is ENMD-2076, an Aurora A and angiogenic kinase inhibitor for the treatment of cancer. ENMD-2076 has completed Phase I studies in patients with advanced solid tumors, multiple myeloma and leukemia and is completing data for a multi-center Phase II study in patients with platinum resistant ovarian cancer. The Company�� other product candidates have includes MKC-1, ENMD-1198 and 2-methoxyestrdiol (2ME2, Panzem) for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

ENMD-2076 is a novel orally-active, Aurora A/angiogenic kinase inhibitor with potent activity against Aurora A and multiple tyrosine kinases linked to cancer and inflammatory diseases. ENMD-2076 is relatively selective for the Aurora A isoform in comparison to Aurora B. Aurora kinases are key regulators of the process of mitosis, or cell division, and are often over-expressed in human cancers. E NMD-2076 exerts its effects through multiple mechanisms of action, including anti-proliferative activity and the inhibition of angiogenesis. ENMD-2076 has demonstrated significant, dose-dependent preclinical activity as a single agent, including tumor regression, in multiple xenograft models (such as breast, colon, leukemia), as well as activity towards ex vivo-treated human leukemia patient cells.

10 Best Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Medtronic Inc (MDT)

Medtronic, Inc. (Medtronic), incorporated on April 23, 1957, is engaged in medical technology - alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people worldwide. As of April, 27, 2012, the Company functions in two operating segments that manufacture and sells device-based medical therapies. The Company's operating segments include Cardiac and Vascular Group, which consists of Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) and CardioVascular, and Restorative Therapies Group, which consists of Spinal, Neuromodulation, Diabetes and Surgical Technologies. Medtronic serves hospitals, physicians, clinicians, and patients in more than 120 countries worldwide. The Company's primary customers include hospitals, clinics, third-party health care providers, distributors, and other institutions, including governmental health care programs and group purchasing organizations. In August 2013, Medtronic, Inc. announced the closing of the acquisition of Cardiocom. Effective September 3, 2013, Medtronic Inc acquired a 30% stake in NGC Medical SpA.

Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management

CRDM develops, manufactures, and markets products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of heart rhythm disorders and heart failure, including implantable devices, leads and delivery systems, products for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), and information systems for the management of patients with CRDM devices. The Company's principal products offered by CRDM business include Implantable Cardiac Pacemakers (Pacemakers), Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs), Implantable Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Devices (CRT-Ds and CRT-Ps), AF Products, Diagnostics and Monitoring Devices and Patient Management Tools. The Company's pacemaker systems are compatible with certain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. This includes the Revo MRI SureScan with United States Food and Drug Administration approval and the Advisa and Ensura MRI SureScan models with Conformite Europeene (CE)! Mark approval. Medtronic also continues to market the Adapta product family, which includes the Adapta, Versa, Sensia, and Relia models.

The Medtronic ICDs is the Protecta family with SmartShock technology, including the Lead Integrity Alert, a technology designed to improve the detection of lead fractures. Devices in the ICD family are the Protecta XT, Protecta, Cardia, and Egida models. Medtronic also continues to market the Secura and Maximo II devices. The Medtronic CRT-Ds is the Protecta family with SmartShock technology, including Protecta XT and Protecta, and the CRT-P devices are Consulta and Syncra. Medtronic also continues to market the Consulta, Cardia, Egida, and Maximo II CRT-D devices. In addition to these devices, Medtronic has an offering of left heart leads and delivery catheters with its Attain family of products. The Company's portfolio of AF products includes the Arctic Front Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter designed to treat paroxysmal AF by performing pulmonary vein isolation. The Company also offers the Reveal XT Insertable Cardiac Monitor, which is designed to identify and quantify episodes of AF. The Reveal DX and Reveal XT Insertable Cardiac Monitors devices are used to record the heart's electrical activity before, during, and after transient symptoms such as syncope and palpitations to help provide a diagnosis. It has a number of patient management tools, such as CareLink, Paceart, and CardioSight Service. CareLink enables patients to transmit data from their pacemaker, ICD, CRT-D, or Insertable Cardiac Monitors using a portable monitor that is connected to a standard telephone line or cellular network using the Medtronic M-Link accessory.

The Company competes with St. Jude Medical, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Biotronik, Inc. and Sorin Group.

CardioVascular

CardioVascular is comprised of three businesses: Coronary, Endovascular and Peripheral, and Structural Heart. The Coronary business includes therapies to treat ! coronary ! artery disease (CAD) and hypertension. The products contained within this business include coronary stents and related delivery systems, along with a broad line of balloon angioplasty catheters, guide catheters, guidewires, diagnostic catheters, and accessories. The products offered by its Coronary business include Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) and Renal Denervation. The Endovascular and Peripheral business is comprised of a range of products and therapies to treat abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms and peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The Company's products include endovascular stent graft systems, embolic protection systems, and stent systems for the treatment of narrowed iliac arteries. The products offered by the Company's Endovascular and Peripheral business include Endovascular Stent Grafts and Peripheral Vascular Intervention (PVI). The Structural Heart business offers a range of products and therapies to treat a variety of heart valve disorders. The Company's products include products for the repair and replacement of heart valves, perfusion systems, positioning and stabilization systems for beating heart revascularization surgery, and surgical ablation products. The Company's principal products offered by its Structural Heart business include Heart Valves, Transcatheter Heart Valves, Arrested Heart Surgery, Beating Heart Surgery and Surgical Ablation.

The Company competes with Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, and Johnson & Johnson, Cook, Inc., W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Endologix, Inc., C.R. Bard, Inc., Edwards LifeSciences Corporation, St. Jude, Terumo Medical Corporation and Sorin Group.

Spinal

The Company's Spinal business develops, manufactures, and markets a range of medical devices and implants used in the treatment of the spine and musculoskeletal system. The Company's products and therapies treat a range of conditions affecting the spine, including degenerative disc disease, spinal deformity, spinal tumours, fractures ! of the sp! ine, and stenosis. The Company's Spinal business also provides biologic solutions for the dental and orthopedic markets. The Company's Spinal products are used in spinal fusion of both the thoracolumbar region, referring to the mid to lower vertebrae, as well as of the cervical region, or upper spine and neck vertebrae. Products used to treat spinal conditions include rods, pedicle screws, hooks, plates, and interbody devices, as well as biologics products, primarily bone growth substitutes including bone graft extenders and structural allografts such as dowels and wedges. The products offered by the Company's Spinal business include Thoracolumbar Products, Cervical Products and Biologics Products.

The Company competes with DePuy Spine, Inc., Synthes, Inc., Stryker Corporation, NuVasive, Inc., Globus Medical, Inc., Zimmer, Inc., Alphatec Spine, Inc., Orthofix International N.V., Biomet, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.

Neuromodulation

The Company's Neuromodulation business develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for the treatment of chronic pain, movement disorders, psychological disorders, and urological, fecal, and gastroenterological disorders. The l products offered by the Company's Neuromodulation business includes Neurostimulators for Chronic Pain, Implantable Drug Delivery Systems, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Systems and Urology, Fecal, & Gastroenterology Devices. The Company's portfolio of products includes the RestoreSensor (rechargeable), with the Company's AdaptiveStim technology, as well as the RestoreULTRA (rechargeable), RestoreADVANCED (rechargeable), and PrimeADVANCED (non-rechargeable) neurostimulation systems. The SynchroMed II Programmable Infusion System delivers small quantities of drug directly into the intrathecal space surrounding the spinal cord. These devices are used to treat chronic, intractable pain and severe spasticity associated with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, and stroke.

DBS uses a surgically implanted medical device, similar to a cardiac pacemaker, to deliver carefully controlled electrical stimulation to precisely targeted areas in the brain. The Company's family of Activa Neurostimulators for DBS includes Activa SC (single-channel primary cell), Activa PC (dual channel primary cell), and Activa RC (dual channel rechargeable). The Company's therapeutic portfolio for urology and gastroenterology includes the InterStim Therapy System, which treats the symptoms of overactive bladder, urinary retention, and chronic fecal incontinence, and the Enterra Therapy System for the treatment of chronic nausea and vomiting caused by gastroparesis of diabetic or idiopathic origin for drug refractory patients.

The Company's competes with Boston Scientific, St. Jude., Urologix, Inc. and Allergan.

Diabetes

The Company's Diabetes business develops, manufactures, and markets advanced, integrated diabetes management solutions that include insulin pump therapy, continuous glucose monitoring systems, and therapy management software. The products offered by the Company's Diabetes business includes Integrated Diabetes Management Solutions, Professional CGM and CareLink Therapy Management Software. Outside the United States, the Company offers its Paradigm Veo System, an integrated system that includes a Low Glucose Suspend feature that automatically suspends insulin delivery when glucose levels become too low. In the United States, the Company offers the Paradigm Revel System, which incorporates new CGM features, including predictive alerts that can give early warning to people with diabetes so they can take action to prevent dangerous high or low glucose events. Medtronic offers physicians a Professional CGM product called the iPro CGM and iPro2 Professional CGM. The Company offers Web-based therapy management software solutions, including CareLink Personal software for patients and CareLink Pro software, to helps patients and their health care prov! iders con! trol their diabetes.

The Company competes with DexCom, Inc., Insulet Corporation, Johnson & Johnson and Roche Ltd.

Surgical Technologies

The Company's Surgical Technologies business develops, manufactures, and markets products and therapies to treat diseases and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and certain neurological disorders. In addition, the business develops, manufactures, and markets image-guided surgery and intra-operative imaging systems that facilitate surgical planning during precision cranial, spinal, sinus, and orthopedic surgeries. The products offered by the Company's Surgical Technologies business includes ENT, Neurological Technologies, Navigation and Advanced Energy. The ENT products treat diseases and conditions, such as NIM Nerve Monitoring Systems, Fusion ENT Navigation System, Hydrodebrider Endoscopic Sinus Irrigation System, Meniett Device for Meniere's Disease, Pillar Procedure for Snoring and Sleep Apnea, and Repose System for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The Neurological Technologies products treat certain neurological disorders and conditions, such as Midas Rex Spine Shaver, the Midas Rex MR7 Pneumatic Platform, the Midas Rex Legend EHS High Speed Surgical Drill, the Strata Family of Adjustable Valves for the treatment of Hydrocephalus, Duet External Drainage & Monitoring System, the IPC System, and the Subdural Evacuating Port System.

The Navigation products are used in cranial, spinal, sinus, and orthopedic surgeries, such as the StealthStation S7 Navigation and i7 Integrated Navigation Systems, the O-Arm 2D/3D Surgical Imaging System, and the PoleStar Surgical MRI System. The products make up the Advanced Energy business: PEAK Surgery System, a tissue dissection system that consists of the PEAK PlasmaBlade and the PULSAR Generator and is cleared for use in a variety of settings, including ENT, plastic reconstructive and general surgery; and the Aquamantys System, which uses patented Transcollation technology to ! provide h! aemostatic sealing of soft tissue and bone and is cleared for use in a range of surgical procedures, including orthopedic surgery, spine, solid organ resection and thoracic procedures.

The Company competes with Gyrus ACMI, Stryker Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation, BrainLAB, Inc., GE Healthcare, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Philips Medical Systems, Covidien and ArthroCare Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Just for the record, I'm not going to imply that BioRestorative Therapies, Inc. (OTCBB:BRTX) is poised to put companies like Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) or Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK). On the other hand, BioRestorative Therapies won't need to destroy Stryker Corporation or Medtronic to be rewarding for its shareholders. BRTX is only a $10 million company, and even the tiniest sliver of the spinal-related business that SYK or MDT are doing now could still be a windfall for shareholders of the up-and-coming organization.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Cardiology device makers haven't had much good to report to investors lately. The entire medical device market has struggled with pricing pressures and other hurdles, but the headaches of heart devices -- from mature markets to Europe's financial crush -- have ramped up the pressure on industry firms such as Medtronic (NYSE: MDT  ) .

Best Medical Companies To Invest In Right Now: Paradigm Medical Industries Inc (PDMI)

Paradigm Medical Industries, Inc., incorporated in October 1989, develops, manufactures, markets and sells ophthalmic diagnostic instrumentation and related accessories, including disposable products. The diagnostic products that the Company manufacturers, markets and sells consist of the P60 UBM Ultrasound Biomicroscope, two perimeters - the LD 400 and the TKS 5000, and the Blood Flow Analyzer. The diagnostic products that the Company markets and sells, which are manufactured by its Italian partner, Costruzione Strumenti Oftalmici srl (CSO), are the Paramax, corneal topographers - the Paravue 300 and the Surveyor 500, and the Paracam 1000. The P60 UBM Ultrasound biomicroscope is the third-generation of UBM devices. The CSO product to be distributed and sold by the Company is the Paramax. Other CSO products to be sold by the Company are the Paravue 300, a corneal topographer with the ability to display live images on a computer monitor; the Surveyor 500, a corneal topographer with a rotating Scheimpflug camera with placido disk, and the Paracam 1000, a specular microscope for endothelial cell evaluations.

Diagnostic Eye Care Products

The Company�� diagnostic eye care products include blood flow analyzer, dicon perimeters, P60 UBM ultrasound biomicroscopes, and Paramax and other products manufactured by Costruzione Strumenti Oftalmici srl. The blood flow analyzer device measures not only intraocular pressure but also pulsatile ocular blood flow, the reduction of which may cause nerve fiber bundle death through oxygen deprivation thus resulting in visual field loss associated with glaucoma. The Company's blood flow analyzer is a portable automated in-office system that presents a method for ocular blood flow testing for the ophthalmic and optometric practitioner. The device is a portable desktop system that utilizes an Air Membrane Applanation Probe (AMAP), which can be attached to any model of standard examination slit lamp, which is then placed on the cornea of the patient! 's eye to measure the intraocular pressure within the eye.

Dicon perimeters consist of the LD 400 and the TKS 5000, and software consisting of Field Lin FieldView and Advanced Field View. Perimeters are used to determine retinal sensitivity testing the visual pathway. Perimetry is reimbursable worldwide. The Dicon perimeters feature kinetic fixation and voice synthesis in 27 different languages. The LD 400FT, or Fast Threshold Autoperimeter, is the successor to the LD 400. The device is an autoperimeter used to measure patient visual fields. The LD 400FT is identical in hardware to the LD 400 but it uses new software to enable a threshold test. The P60 biomicroscope represents the third-generation of UBM devices. The Paramax is to be sold in North America on an exclusive basis. The Paramax performs tests for the early screening and follow up of pathologies, such as glaucoma, age related macular degeneration, vascular retinal degeneration, and other optic nerve diseases.

Surgical Products

The Company�� surgical products include Precisionist Thirty Thousand, Ocular Surgery Workstation and Photon Laser System. The Precisionist Thirty Thousand is the Company's core phaco surgical technology. As of December 31, 2009, the Precisionist is not manufactured by the Company. The system features a graphic color display and on board computer and graphic user interface linked to a soft key membrane panel for flexible programmable operation. The system provides real-time on-the-fly adjustment capabilities for each surgical parameter during the surgical procedure for high-volume applications. In addition, the Precisionist provides one hundred pre-programmable surgery setups, with a second level of subprogrammed custom modes within each major surgical screen (ultrasound phaco and

irrigation/aspiration modes).

The Ocular Surgery Workstation comprises the base system of the Precisionist

Thirty Thousand and is the first system, to the Company's knowledge,! which us! es the expansive capabilities of today's advanced computer technology to offer seamless open architecture expandability of the system hardware and software modules. The Workstation utilizes an embedded open architecture computer developed for the Company and controlled by a software system developed by the Company that interfaces with all components of the system. Ultrasound, fluidics (irrigation), aspiration, venting, coagulation and anterior vitrectomy (pneumatic) are all included in the base model.

The Photon laser cataract system is designed to be installed as a seamless plug-in upgrade or add-on to the Company's Precisionist' Ocular Surgery Workstation. The Photon laser utilizes the on board microprocessor computer of the Workstation to generate short pulse laser energy developed through the patented LCP to targeted cataract tissue inside the eye, while simultaneously irrigating the eye and aspirating the diseased cataract tissue from the eye. In addition to the cataract surgery equipment, the Company's surgical systems are designed to utilize accessory instruments and disposables. These include replacement ultrasound tips, sleeves, tubing sets and fluidics packs, instrument drapes and laser cataract probes. The Company focuses on expanding its disposable accessories as it penetrates the cataract surgery market and expands the treatment applications for its Workstation.

The Company competes with Sonomed, Tomey, Nidek, OTI and Quantel.

Best Medical Companies To Invest In Right Now: Dyadic International Inc (DYAI)

Dyadic International, Inc. (Dyadic), incorporated in September 2002, is a holding company. The Company is a global biotechnology company. The Company has operations at the United States and the Netherlands. Dyadic uses its technologies to conduct research and development (R&D) and commercial activities for the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of enzymes and proteins for the bioenergy, industrial enzyme, and biopharmaceutical industries. The Company derives all of its revenues from the licensing of its technologies, the sale of its enzymes and conducting research and development (R&D) activities for third parties. The Company operates in two segments: the United States operations and The Netherlands operations. The United States segment includes a subsidiary in Poland.

The United States operating segment is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of enzyme products, proteins, peptides and other bio-molecules derived from genes and a collaborative licensor of enabling technologies for the development and manufacturing of biological products and use in R&D. The Netherlands operating segment is also a researcher and developer of enzyme products, proteins, peptides and other bio-molecules derived from genes and, to date, has mainly invested in R&D activities.

Dyadic�� R&D activities focus on its fungal strains and associated technologies. Dyadic uses its Trichoderma and C1 fungal strains in the production of its industrial enzymes. Dyadic manufactures and sells liquid and dry enzyme products to global customers for use within the animal feed, pulp and paper, starch and alcohol, food and brewing, textiles, and biofuels industries.

Dyadic also utilizes a technology platform based on its patented and C1 fungus (the C1 Platform Technology), which enables the development and manufacture of proteins and enzymes for diverse market opportunities. The C1 Platform Technology can also be used to screen for the discovery of novel genes and proteins. The C1 Platf! orm Technology also has the potential of developing and producing other biological products such as antibodies, vaccines, proteins and polypeptides for the biopharmaceutical industry.