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Medtronic
To Market Endeavor DES in India
Medtronic has received CE Mark (Conformité
Européenne) approval fro the commercial sale of the Endeavor DE Coronary Stent
with the Rapid Exchange Delivery System. Endeavor is claimed to be the first
Cobalt Alloy drug eluting stent, to be launched in India and 40 other countries
outside the US.
"We can now provide physicians
and patients with Medtronic's high performance Endeavor DES. Physicians will now
have a broader choice among the drug-eluting stents that are available to treat
their patients. Endeavor offers a powerful combination of deliverability,
efficacy and safety compared with other commercially available stent," said
Milind Shah, MD, Medtronic.
Drug-eluting stents have been
proven to be superior to traditional bare-metal stents at reducing the rate of
repeat procedures due to re-clogging of arteries (restenosis) in patients with
coronary artery disease.
According to Dr Jean Fajadet,
Clinique Pasteur Unité de Cardiologie Interventionnelle, Toulouse, France and
one of the co-principle investigators of the Endeavor II pivotal trial, the
results from the Endeavor trials to date have been both comprehensive and
positive.
(Ref : Chronicle Pharmabiz
dated September 1, 2005)
Nirma
Completes Due Diligence of Core
Nirma, the soaps & detergents
maker, has concluded the due diligence of Core Healthcare and is expected to
file an application (acquisition scheme) with the Gujarat High Court next week
for acquiring the assets of the country's biggest intravenous (IV) fluid
manufacturing company.
The due diligence was done by
consultants Ernst & Young. Sources said Nirma will pay Rs 350 crore for the
acquisition.
More significantly, Nirma is
learnt to be negotiating a major deal with a foreign company for contract
manufacturing of IV fluids, which will help it increase its capacity utilisation
of the acquired business significantly. But Nirma sources categorically denied
such a move.
Nirma's acquisition of Core
Healthcare comes at a time when the IV fluids business is looking up. The price
per unit (500 ml) of IV fluid has increased to Rs 11-12 after hitting a low of
Rs 7-8 in 1998. Installed capacities of large volume parenterals (LVP) at Core
is 24 crore bottles a year while the installed capacities of small volume
parenterals (SVP) comprising 1 ml, 2ml, 5ml and 10 ml ampules is 48 crore a
year. Nirma is also acquiring various divisions such as for making disposal
syringes and needles. At optimum capacity, the acquired business can fetch Nirma
additional sales of Rs 450 crore. The IV fluids business contributes 60% of
this, sources said.
(Ref : Economic Times dated
September 3, 2005)
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