A new liver dialysis procedure may help criti-cally ill patients survive long enough to get aliver transplant, according to a report byHealthScout news service.

Known as albumin dialysis, researchers in theUSA at the University of Michigan say the sys-tem works in a similar manner to kidney dialysisin that blood is removed from the body, toxicsubstances are filtered out, and healthy blood isreturned to the body.

Albumin is a substance that grabs toxic sub-stances and transports them through the bloodto the liver. In people with diseased or damagedliver, these toxins stay in the blood and cause

damage, explains the report. In albumin dialysis,blood is pumped out of the body and filteredthrough a thin membrane containing albumin.The albumin on the membrane extracts the tox-ins from the blood and removes them. The fil-tered blood is then pumped back into the body.

The researchers have already used the deviceon 20 very ill liver-failure patients in a prelimi-nary clinical trial with promising results, says thereport. Two patients recovered complete liverfunction. Almost all of the remaining patientsshowed some improvement in liver functiontests, and six patients lived long enough toreceive a liver transplant.

US companies GE Power Systems, a divisionof General Electric Co, and Osmonics Inchave signed an agreement to merge Osmonicsinto a wholly-owned subsidiary of GE in astock and cash transaction.

John Rice, president and CEO of GE PowerSystems says that the fit between the two compa-nies will allow it to better serve the water needsof its global customers.

“By combining Osmonics’ excellent technolo-gy and engineering resources with the comple-mentary capabilities of GE Water, we will createan even broader portfolio of products and ser-vices that we can offer for a wide range of energyand industrial applications worldwide. In addi-tion, we are excited about the commercial syner-gies with GE Betz and GE Consumer Products,”said Rice.

In the merger, Osmonics shareholders willreceive the equivalent of US$17.00 of GE com-mon stock for each share of Osmonics.Shareholders may elect to receive US$17.00 incash per share instead of GE shares, subject toproration, so that the total cash paid does notexceed 55% of the total merger consideration.

The merger, which is subject to the approvalof the holders of a majority of Osmonics’ out-standing common shares, government

approvals and other customary conditions, isexpected to close in the first quarter of 2003.Following the completion of the acquisition,Osmonics will be integrated with GE Water, aunit of GE Power Systems.

“Osmonics has a solid product line with excel-lent opportunities for growth, but we needed theresources of a larger organization to take thecompany to the next level,” said Dean Spatz,chairman and CEO, Osmonics.

GE Water, which is based in Guelph,Ontario, Canada, serves the industrial waterservices market that includes power, semicon-ductors and electronics, petrochemical, oil andgas, pulp and paper, food and beverage, phar-maceutical and health care.

In other, unrelated news, Osmonics MedicalSystems has been launched to market waterpurification systems and related equipment tothe medical dialysis market. The new divisioncombines 30 years of the company’s dialysiswater treatment expertise with the turnkeycapability gained from the acquisition ofZyzaTech during 1999.

Osmonics Medical Systems will combineproven water treatment system designs withcomplete customer care packages in an effortto improve patient safety and comfort, while

reducing the overall cost to the clinic of oper-ating the equipment. The company says anincreased focus on long-term partnershipswith dialysis care providers will be a primaryobjective.

The products are manufactured atOsmonics’ facility in Kent, Washington. JohnRickert, the division’s business manager, saysthat the company also will be expanding itsrange to include 510(k) compliant disinfectionsystems, and mixing and delivery products. Thedivision is aiming to offer providers a singlesource of compliant equipment as well as anongoing service relationship to ensure that allcomponents are well maintained.

For more information, contact: Osmonics Inc,5951 Clearwater Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55343, USA.Tel: +1 952 933 2277, Fax: +1 952 933 0141.

Or contact: GE Power Systems, 4200 WildwoodParkway, Atlanta, GA 30339, USA. Tel: +1 770 8596948, Fax: +1 770 859 7513.

GE Power Systems to broaden product portfolio with Osmonics acquisition

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Liver dialysis is set to become a reality

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ISSN 0958-2118 November 2002

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