Med-Design Group Sees Opportunities in New Law

Med-Design Corp. in Ventura, which designs safety needle products for medical use, is predicting significant marketing opportunities for its products as a result of the new California law mandating statewide use of safety needles.

The measure goes into effect in limited use in January and requires full compliance by August. The law makes California the first state in the nation to mandate the use of safety needles in health-care settings.

“We are pleased that California has the opportunity, once again, to be at the forefront of solving what has become a neglected national issue, the safety of health-care workers,” said James M. Donegan, Med-Design chairman and CEO. “We also believe that Med-Design, with its extensive portfolio of safety-needle products, is well-positioned to participate very actively in the California-mandated program.”

Med-Design’s retractable safety needle products are designed to enable health-care workers to perform medical procedures involving medication injection, infusion and fluid collection at greatly reduced exposure to accidental needle sticks. More than 1 million accidental needle-stick injuries occur every year in the United States, Med-Design officials said.

Med-Design has 21 products in various stages of development and has entered into agreements with U.S. and international manufacturers and distributors of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and drug delivery systems.