Med Associates Responds to Coulbourn Instruments e-Response Newsletter Claims
At Med Associates, we recently became aware of an electronic newsletter circulated by another behavioral instrument provider, Coulbourn Instruments. In their May 2009 issue of e-Response, Coulbourn Instruments delivered a communication which is false, misleading, and slanderous as applied to Med Associates. Coulbourn failed to identify direct targets of their accusations, so the reader is left to wonder which companies are being referred to. When we read this correspondence, we felt that some of the accusations could be construed as being directed towards our company, Med Associates. With this level of uncertainty in mind, we felt it important to address Coulbourn’s comments on behalf of our company, Med Associates Inc. and our other family businesses, including Catamount Research and Development Company, Mansfield Research and Development, LLC, Razel Scientific Instruments, Inc., and Living Systems Instrumentation, lest any of our good and faithful customers be discouraged or confused by reading or hearing Coulbourn Instruments’ ambiguous claims.
We have taken verbatim the various points from Coulbourn’s newsletter, and following each Coulbourn Instruments claim is our response.
Under the heading of “Manufacturers Competing for Your Research Funding”…
- Coulbourn Instruments claims:
“Although the Federal Stimulus package will introduce much needed dollars into the Life Science Research, some manufacturers have chosen to compete for these tax dollars not just through supplying goods and services to the research community but by setting up “research facilities” to directly compete for your research funding, in effect, double dipping.”Med Associates responds:
It is true that Med Associates has established a state-of-the-art research facility at our St. Albans, Vermont campus. Med Associates Vice President of Research and Development, Dr. Gerry Herrera, came to us with 10 years of experience in basic science, and was instrumental in getting our Science and Research facility operational. In fact, we are currently in the planning stages for expanding this 23,000 square foot facility to make more room for our R&D program. This facility is home to our company Catamount Research and Development. Catamount provides all the R&D, engineering, and technical services in support of the Med Associates behavioral product line. We have invested heavily in capital equipment and resources, including a dedicated vivarium with survival surgery suite, zebrafish aquarium, and purpose-bred rodent colonies.No, it is not true that Med Associates, or any of the Zurn/Herrera family companies including Catamount, apply for or otherwise compete for federal grant dollars in the same manner as our customer base would. For the sake of full disclosure, we should tell you that around 6 years ago, Med Associates did receive a local EPSCOR (colloquially known as “SBIR Phase 0”) award to develop transdermal drug delivery devices using nerve agent antidotes for potential use in military applications. This is the only research grant that we have ever received. The SBIR program represents a specific federal funding mechanism, which all federal granting agencies are required to appropriate for, in which commercial applications with potential marketability are funded through various stages of development. The SBIR program is fiscally separate from any grant allocations that basic scientists would be competing for. No “double dipping” here.
- Coulbourn Instruments claims:
“By applying for grants and/or contracts to conduct “research” they reduce the funding available to their customers using funds towards salaries and the purchase of equipment they manufacture and already own.”Med Associates responds:
Again, our companies do not actively apply for grants or contracts to conduct research. We do occasionally undertake small scale contract research studies paid for by biotech and pharmaceutical companies. These contract studies do not impact the funding available through federal research grants. Contract research represents an insignificant percentage of our business and is primarily conducted not to generate revenue, but rather to aid researchers in setting up specialized assays or protocols. Furthermore, rather than reducing funding available, we actually support many basic research projects by providing equipment and resources to undertake pilot/feasibility studies. - Coulbourn Instruments claims:
“These manufacturers use the combined funding to substantially reduce the cost of the equipment to them providing them with an unfair advantage over their customers competing for the same funding. Fortunately, the majority of manufacturers of life science research instrumentation, like Coulbourn Instruments, frown upon such practices and adhere to high ethical standards for manufacturing and distributing equipment to the research markets they serve.Med Associates responds:
Med Associates does not use federal research dollars to fund its equipment. At our Science and Research facility, we do indeed have several hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of behavioral research equipment that is fully operational and in regular usage. It forms the basis of our R&D program. This equipment, which we did manufacture, represents a financial investment on our part. This investment was not funded directly by federal research dollars, but rather by the proceeds of our sales. We believe strongly in the importance of investing company profits in product R&D. Again, we do not apply for or receive federal grant dollars to conduct research. At Med Associates, we believe that a strong R&D program is an essential element in providing quality equipment that meets short and long term needs of the research community.
Currently Med Associates and the affiliated Zurn and Herrera companies manufacture over 400 products and employ about 100 staff. Our locations include a main manufacturing facility in Georgia, Vermont, the Science and Research Facility in St. Albans, Vermont, and representation by several dealers and distributors throughout the world. Our total spatial resources approach 80,000 square feet, with plenty of room to grow. Since its inception, Med Associates has followed a productive growth strategy marked by three key principles:
- State-of-the-Art Engineering and Design
- Commitment to Basic Research
- Manufacturing Excellence
State-of-the-art Engineering and Design
Our focus on engineering and design has resulted in the largest array of behavioral test equipment available from any manufacturer. We are continuously pursuing new product development, product enhancements, and ventures into new areas. We use the latest development platforms for software, electrical, and mechanical design. Our prototype machine shop, which is co-localized with our research labs, allows us to make refinements in our product designs using direct feedback from the lab. No other instrumentation company uses this approach in the development process.
Commitment to Basic Research
Basic research is part of the foundation of our product development process. Our St. Albans, Vermont Science and Research Facility is home to our in-house test laboratories. We have a vivarium with survival surgical capabilities and several thousand square feet of lab space. In addition, we work closely with researchers in the field to help us design and refine our research equipment. We also conduct regular training workshops at our Science and Research Facility, as well as at national scientific meetings. These workshops give users direct hands-on experience with our equipment. In addition, we regularly present the work from our labs at national meetings, such as Experimental Biology, and the annual meeting for the Society for Neuroscience, as well as many local and regional meetings.
Manufacturing Excellence
Over the years we have invested heavily into manufacturing equipment, including state-of-the-art automated computer-controlled mills, saws, lathes, routers, electrical circuit board assembly (pick and place), and more. This investment allows us to manufacture a reliable and quality product at very economical prices.
Our staff of manufacturing employees, sales representatives, technicians, engineers, scientists, and executives all work together to design, develop, and produce a large array of products and research tools, and make them available to researchers at economical prices. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. As always, we welcome your feedback on this, or any subject.
Sincerely,
Bridget Zurn, MSCS, MBA
President of Med Associates Inc.
Karl Zurn, MEE
Founder and Chairman of Med Associates Inc.