Monday May 13, 7:24 am Eastern Time
Reuters Company News
Given Imaging in Japan gastric camera deal
TEL AVIV, May 13 (Reuters) - Israel's Given Imaging said on Monday it has formed a joint
venture with Marubeni Corp (Tokyo:8002.T - News) and Suzuken Co (Tokyo:9987.T - News) to market in Japan its
ingestible camera used to examine the gastrointestinal tract.
The joint venture, Given Imaging KK, will submit a request for regulatory
and insurance reimbursement coverage in Japan and then launch the Given
Diagnostic System.
Given Imaging said it might take two years to attain approval from the
Ministry of Health and Labor to market the system in Japan, the second
largest healthcare market in the world in terms of total spending.
"The Japanese market is huge," Given Imaging president and chief
executive Gavriel Meron told Reuters. "If we just look at the opportunity
for gastric screening in Japan we are looking at more than 10 million annual
tests as everyone over 35 is required to take a gastric cancer test."
Marubeni and Suzuken will invest a total of 550 million yen ($4.2 million) in
the joint venture and retain a 49 percent stake. Meron said this sum would cover the expenses of setting up operation until the
company starts selling the product.
Given Imaging will control the rest of the joint venture but will not invest any money.
Suzuken, Japan's largest pharmaceuticals distributor with over $7 billion in sales last year, will act as exclusive sub-distributor in
Japan while Marubeni, with $75 billion in trading volume, will be the exclusive importer.
The diagnostic system, which features the M2A capsule endoscope, uses a disposable minature video camera contained in a
capsule that is ingested by the patient and delivers images of the gastrointestinal tract.
It is currently available in 34 countries, including the United States and Europe.
"The conventional method of gastrointestinal examination by endoscope equipment has been very painful for patients. However,
the innovative capsule endoscope is very patient-friendly and reduces patient discomfort significantly," said Shigeru Wada,
general manager of business development at Suzuken.
Meron said Given Imaging now covered the world's four largest healthcare markets -- the United States, Japan, Germany and
France -- with subsidiaries. |
