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CooperCompanies is one of the largest eyecare companies in the US. It operates in two segments: CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision is a pure-play contact lens business with a suite of spherical, multifocal, and toric contact lenses. The company also has one of the most comprehensive specialty lens portfolios in the world. With brands including Proclear, Biofinity, MyDay, and Clariti, Cooper controls roughly one fourth of the US contact lens market. CooperSurgical, founded in 1990, is made up of equipment related to reproductive care, fertility, and women’s care. Cooper has the broadest medical device coverage of the entire IVF cycle. It also has Paragard, the only hormone-free IUD in the US, and controls 17% of the US IUD market.

Originally spun out of Hewlett-Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved into a leading life science and diagnostic firm. Today, Agilent's measurement technologies serve a broad base of customers with its three operating segments: life science and applied tools, cross lab consisting of consumables and services related to life science and applied tools, and diagnostics and genomics. Over half of its sales are generated from the biopharmaceutical, chemical, and advanced materials end markets, which we view as the stickiest end markets, but it also supports clinical lab, environmental, forensics, food, academic, and government-related organizations. The company is geographically diverse, with operations in the US and China representing the largest country concentrations.

Intuitive Surgical develops, produces, and markets a robotic system for assisting minimally invasive surgery. It also provides the instrumentation, disposable accessories, and warranty services for the system. The company has placed more than 9,500 da Vinci systems in hospitals worldwide, with more than 5,500 installations in the US and a growing number in emerging markets.

DaVita is the largest provider of dialysis services in the United States, boasting market share of about 35% when measured by clinics. The firm operates over 3,000 facilities worldwide, mostly in the US, and treats about 280,000 patients globally each year. Government payers dominate US dialysis reimbursement. DaVita receives about two thirds of US sales at government (primarily Medicare) reimbursement rates, with the remainder coming from commercial insurers. While commercial insurers represent only about 10% of US patients treated, they represent nearly all of the profits generated by DaVita in the US dialysis business. Berkshire Hathaway owns about 45% of DaVita.