Johnson & Johnson Inc. (NYSE: JNJ) subsidiary Cordis Corp. announced yesterday that it signed a distribution agreement to become the exclusive global distributor of a family of bare metal stents for coronary applications developed by Jerusalem-based biotech firm Medinol Ltd.. The companies did not disclose any financial details about the deal.
Under the agreement Cordis will have access to Medinol's latest generation stainless steel and cobalt chromium bare metal stents. The two companies said they would work together to obtain necessary approvals from US and other regulatory authorities to market the products globally. Cordis estimates it will file its first marketing applications outside the country in the second half of 2007, and in the US in the beginning of 2008.
Cordis's parent Johnson & Johnson has a controlling share in the global stent market through Cordis's product line of drug-coated stents, a control that will be now extended further with the addition of Medinol's range of bare metal stents.
A study presented at an international cardiology conference last September claims that coated stents, compared to bare metal stents, increase the risk of blood clots in patients. It is believed that rising concern about blood clots in drug-coated stents has caused a shift back to the bare metal devices, and that both coated and bare stents will have an equal share of the market. The two companies are, therefore, likely to benefit by being able to market both kinds of stent under one roof.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 24, 2007
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