Kaneka Signs Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Israeli Company for Stent Retriever
- Expanding Product Lineup for Acute Ischemic Stroke -
KANEKA CORPORATION
January 9, 2024
Kaneka Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Minoru Tanaka) has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with an Israeli medical device company, Rapid Medical Ltd. (Headquarters: Yokneam, Israel; CEO: Ronen Eckhouse), for a neurovascular blood clot retrieval device (stent retriever*1), TIGERTRIEVER ™, in Japan.January 9, 2024
Generally, when an acute ischemic stroke*2 occurs, a blood clot in a neurovascular vessel disrupts blood flow and brain tissue is seriously damaged over time. Therefore, it is critical to achieve revascularization as soon as possible. The stent retrievers currently distributed in Japan are self-expanding, with expanded stents potentially damaging vessel walls as they retrieve blood clots. TIGERTRIEVER™, for which we have signed the agreement, features a unique mechanism that allows for the stent to be opened and closed, which entangles and retrieves neurovascular blood clots while minimizing the load on blood vessels. This is the first introduction of a stent retriever with this feature in Japan.
The domestic market for stent retrievers was valued at JPY 5 billion in FY2022 and is expected to continue growing. Based on our contacts and achievements cultivated in the neurovascular field, we plan on entering the market from spring 2024 onward.
In the future, we plan on growing our business in the neurovascular field by increasing the sale of i-ED COIL™*3, a coil for the embolization of cerebral aneurysms, as well as expanding our product lineup with products like this.
We will provide solutions to health issues worldwide through the expansion of our medical business within the increasingly important field of health care.
*1. A medical device with a stent (a metal mesh tube) attached to the tip of a catheter to retrieve neurovascular blood clots and restore blood flow.
*2. A disease in which a neurovascular blood clot disrupts blood flow and causes the necrosis of brain cells and tissues.
*3. A medical device that is fed through a catheter into a bulge in a cerebral blood vessel that is at risk of rupture or hemorrhage, preventing blood from entering it.
TIGERTRIEVER™, a neurovascular blood clot retrieval device (stent retriever)
<Overview of Rapid Medical Ltd.>
Headquarters: Yokneam, Israel
Business activities: Development, manufacturing, and sale of medical devices (neuroendovascular therapeutics)
Representative: Ronen Eckhouse (CEO)
Establishment: 2008
“TIGERTRIEVER™” is a registered trademark of Rapid Medical Ltd.
*2. A disease in which a neurovascular blood clot disrupts blood flow and causes the necrosis of brain cells and tissues.
*3. A medical device that is fed through a catheter into a bulge in a cerebral blood vessel that is at risk of rupture or hemorrhage, preventing blood from entering it.
TIGERTRIEVER™, a neurovascular blood clot retrieval device (stent retriever)
<Overview of Rapid Medical Ltd.>
Headquarters: Yokneam, Israel
Business activities: Development, manufacturing, and sale of medical devices (neuroendovascular therapeutics)
Representative: Ronen Eckhouse (CEO)
Establishment: 2008
“TIGERTRIEVER™” is a registered trademark of Rapid Medical Ltd.
