Cardinal Health and Ohio State Open Pharma Center
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) revealed that it has completed a five-year project with The Ohio State University and State of Ohio to build a $13 million molecular imaging pharmaceuticals center to do research and production of specialized pharmaceuticals called "imaging agents”.
The 27,000-square-foot facility is called the Translational Research Center for Molecular Imaging Pharmaceuticals at the Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging. It is located on Ohio State University’s west campus, close to its Wexner Medical Center, Veterinary Medical Center, West Campus Technology and Incubator facilities.
The molecular imaging pharmaceuticals center will combine Ohio State's Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging's research capabilities with Cardinal Health’s developmental, manufacturing and commercialization expertise for molecular imaging agents.
“Imaging agents" are injected into the body to find out particular cellular functions indicative of specific disease processes. These agents are visible through sophisticated imaging equipment, and help in both the diagnosis and treatment of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular and neurological disorders.
The molecular imaging pharmaceuticals center will provide Ohio State researchers the expertise to help in their research and creation of new molecular imaging agents in Positron Emission Tomography, also known as PET imaging.
Cardinal Health will also support the development, manufacturing and dispensing of imaging pharmaceuticals for clinical drug trials in Ohio and across its national network of radiopharmaceutical facilities.
Cardinal Health posted adjusted earnings per share of 83 cents for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 that rose 5.1% from 79 cents in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2013 and edged past the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a couple of cents. Adjusted net earnings upped 3.6% to $284 million from $274 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
For the fiscal year, adjusted earnings rose 2.9% to $3.84 per share from $3.73 in fiscal 2013 and inched past the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. The rise in earnings despite lower revenues in both the periods is attributable to lower operating expenses in both the quarter (48.5%) and fiscal year (16.5%).
Revenues in the quarter fell 9.9% to $22,894 million, but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $21,779 million. Revenues for the year dipped 9.9% to $91,084 million, but beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $89,949 million. The fall in revenues in both the periods is attributable to lower revenues generated from the Pharmaceutical segment.
For fiscal 2015, Cardinal Health projected adjusted earnings per share in the band of $4.10 to $4.30, reflecting an estimated rise of 6.8 to 12.0% over fiscal 2013. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.25 for the year lies within the guided range.
Cardinal Health currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other well-performing stocks in the medical/dental supplies industry include The Cooper Companies Inc. (COO), Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (LH) and DENTSPLY International Inc. (XRAY). The Cooper Companies sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while both Laboratory Corp. and DENTSPLY International retain a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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