Baxter And TAU Ink New Licensing Agreements Through Ramot

A global medical products company Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) is consistently making efforts to expand its surgical care business. In line with this, the company has recently teamed up with Tel Aviv University, Israel's largest research and teaching university (TAU), on two new licensing agreements through Ramot. Notably, Ramot is the Business Engagement Center at Tel Aviv University.

The tie-up includes joint research efforts to evaluate multiple technologies that are currently under development at the university as well as Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (TASMC). TASMC is one of the largest academic medical centers, affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at TAU, providing the most progressive full-service healthcare treatment and research institutions in Israel.

Baxter will be working closely with TAU and TASMC to commercialize early-stage research and introduce latest innovations in surgical care. Per the press release, “Baxter will exclusively license the TAU Technology Innovation Momentum Fund technology in one license agreement and TAU and TASMC technology in the second license agreement for use in multiple potential applications that might result from the joint research activity.”

Baxter, TAU and TASMC have planned to work together with the goal of exploring potential applications of multiple projects that aim to fulfil unmet needs. If these applications yield the desired results, it will reach Baxter’s portfolio of products into new areas of surgical care and complement the company's line of offerings.

Over the past three months, Baxter has been trading above the Zacks categorized Medical - Products industry. The stock has gained 13.9%, much higher than the industry’s increase of 10.4%.

Recent Developments

Baxter recently acquired Wound Care Technologies Incorporated, the manufacturer of the DERMACLOSE Continuous Tissue Expander. DERMACLOSE is an innovative device used to facilitate the suturing and stapling of the skin around moderate to serious wounds which will help the company enter a complementary product category under surgical care.

The company also unveiled customer-centric enhancements to both the FLOSEAL and TISSEEL hemostatic agents. These have been designed to improve safety for patients and ease of use for clinicians. In March, the company announced the publication of two analyses in the Journal of Medical Economics exhibiting FLOSEAL as a cost-effective hemostat that may contribute more to cost savings at hospitals as compared to other options.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Baxter currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked medical stocks are Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) , Inogen, Inc. (NASDAQ:INGN) and Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) . Notably, Mesa Laboratories and Inogen sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Align Technology carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Mesa Laboratories has a positive earnings surprise of 2.84% over the last four trailing quarters. The stock has added roughly 10.5% over the last three months.

Inogen has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 17.5%. The stock has gained around 23.8% over the last three months.

Align Technology has an expected long-term adjusted earnings growth of almost 24.1%. The stock has added roughly 30.5% over the last three months.

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