AngioDynamics is teaming up for the first time with the Albany region's largest advertising firm to bring a new laser technology to market.
"We have an opportunity to change the way peripheral arterial disease is treated with this technology," said Scott Centea, global senior vice president and general manager of vascular interventions and therapies.
The Latham manufacturer hired Fingerpaint this month to create a strategy for selling Angio's recently acquired artery cleaning laser.
The 11-year-old Saratoga Springs advertising firm was selected from a group of four finalists to help Angio compete for a share of a $500 million market dominated by some of the world's largest medical device companies — Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX), Royal Philips and Cardiovascular Systems Inc.
AngioDynamics (Nasdaq: ANGO) awarded the job to Fingerpaint less than two months after purchasing laser inventor Eximo Medical Ltd. of Rehovot, Israel, for $66 million.
The two Albany-area firms have agreed to a one-year contract that could be worth more than $1 million. Exact terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The two firms will come up with a name for the laser by early next year, and determine the best way to tell the story of the technology to surgeons and physicians.
"We want them to challenge us," Centea said.
The opportunity for the artery cleaning laser is large enough that it will have a dedicated sales force of at least 30 representatives within the next two years.
"In many ways, what AngioDynamics is doing is a parallel to what we are doing at Fingerpaint," said Bill McEllen, a partner at Fingerpaint.
Both firms have positioned themselves to go head-to-head with the largest companies in their industries, McEllen said. Fingerpaint focuses solely on health care and medical advertising.
The advertising firm was founded by Ed Mitzen after he sold Palio Communications in Saratoga Springs. Since 2008, the company has grown to $44.8 million in annual revenue with offices across the United States, including 135 at its headquarters on Broadway in Saratoga.
One of the factors that helped Fingerpaint capture AngioDynamics' attention was the company's experience working in the health care and medical device fields. One of Fingerpaint's previous clients was a startup that is trying to commercialize technology to treat people recovering from a traumatic brain injury.
Fingerpaint employs close to 260 across the United States including a 10-person medical strategies unit whose personnel have graduate degrees and medical backgrounds in the fields of pharmacy and immunology.
The advertising firm's culture also caught Centea's attention. One of the things that impressed him was Fingerpaint's policy that allows all employees to take a four-week sabbatical after reaching their five-year anniversary with the firm.
That shows how committed the company is to its employees, Centea said.
By: Robin K. Cooper (Albany Business Review).
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