Content provided in partnership with

Hauppauge-based Crosstex International sees cash in staph infection

Long Island Business News, Nov 9, 2007 by Alison Snyder

Crosstex International smells an opportunity in the recent clamor over drug-resistant staph infections.

The headlines of the past few weeks might pay off for the Hauppauge-based company, which manufactures infection-control products such as hand sanitizers and disinfectants. Crosstex is seeing "very strong demand" from New York metropolitan area schools for its products - including a few schools on Long Island, according to R. Scott Jones, president and chief executive of Cantel Medical Corp., Crosstex's parent company.

Most Popular Articles in Business: Research and Markets : Tesco Plc - SWOT Framework Analysis; Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors; eBay made easy: ready to start an eBay business? These 5 simple steps will ...; Katrina's lawsuit surge: a legal battle to force insurers to pay for flood ...; Wal-Mart's newest distribution center opened last month near the southwest ...; More »

After an Oct. 16 Centers for Disease Control study reported that methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus bacteria caused more than 94,000 life-threatening infections in the United States in 2005, concerns erupted over the so-called "superbug." Hospitals have scrambled to bring sterilization procedures up to date and parents have grown anxious about sending kids to school - more so, with several staph infections reported recently in Island schools.

Crosstex is now talking with several area schools about its MRSA- killing products and aims to extend the pitch nationwide, Jones said. Until now, the company has primarily sold its products, through distributors, to dentists' and physicians' offices.

"We'd love to see (schools) grow to be a substantial part of our business," Jones said. "We really expect to see a rise in demand that addresses the needs of schools and other public places."

Such places include hospitals, business facilities and train stations, he added.

Crosstex does $60 million in annual sales, with hand sanitizers and disinfectant sprays comprising less than 5 percent of that total, according to Jones. The company is hoping for a surge in demand for its MRSA-killing products on par with the recent $1 million order it took from a large financial management company that ordered 10 million face masks.

Analyst Michael Gaugler with New York City-based Brean Murray, Carret & Co. has a less rosy outlook. Gaugler said sales of the anti- MRSA products might give Cantel some incremental growth that may even prove sustainable over the long term, "but I don't think that growth is suddenly going to become the topic of conference calls," he said.

MRSA is a bacteria resistant not only to methicillin, but other antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin. At their worst, staph bacteria can invade the bloodstream, lungs and heart, causing a life-threatening infections.

Nassau and Suffolk counties have each confirmed 17 cases of community-acquired MRSA in the past two weeks. The majority of the cases were in schools and day-care centers, according to each county's department of health.

Hauppauge-based Crosstex International sees cash in staph infection

Long Island Business News, Nov 9, 2007 by Alison Snyder

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: News

Most Popular Articles in Business

Most Popular Publications in Business