Masimo Corporation (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry™ and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, announced today the formation of The Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare, a non-profit organization that will facilitate its corporate philanthropy. During the first quarter of 2010, Masimo provided a monetary gift of $10 million and an in-kind contribution of pulse oximetry equipment and supplies to support the foundation's efforts.
Masimo Founder and Chief Executive Officer Joe Kiani will serve as Chairman of The Masimo Foundation. The Foundation's purpose will be to encourage and promote various activities, programs, and research opportunities designed to improve patient safety and deliver advanced health care to people worldwide who may not otherwise have access to lifesaving technologies. In addition, the Foundation intends to support third-party research, development initiatives, and clinical studies designed to expand the healthcare industry's ability to provide better and more cost-effective solutions and protocols for healthcare delivery throughout the world. Finally, the Foundation intends to provide special attention to those causes whose ultimate goals are ethical—focused on doing the right thing for the right reasons—and designed to create healthy competition, which we believe is the ultimate answer to lower health care costs in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Mr. Kiani stated, "Masimo has long been dedicated to its mission to improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of care through innovations in noninvasive monitoring. Similarly, The Masimo Foundation will dedicate itself to improving patient care through philanthropic programs and research initiatives that foster an environment of robust and honest competition, and enhance caregiver access to cost-effective and innovative healthcare solutions."
Masimo's $10 million gift to The Masimo Foundation represents a portion of the $30 million payment it received in January 2010, following the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' October 2009 affirmance of a Federal District Court judgment in Masimo's favor that Tyco Healthcare, now Covidien, violated the antitrust laws through anticompetitive business practices related to the sale of its pulse oximetry products.
Currently, the Foundation is in the process of formalizing its grant-making guidelines and will be developing a comprehensive website that will serve as a resource for those interested in learning more about specific programs and grant opportunities aimed at fostering ethics, innovation and competition in healthcare. In the meantime, letters of inquiry may be sent to Ann L. Van Dormolen, Administrator, Masimo Foundation, P.O. Box 9399, Marina Del Rey, CA, 90295.
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