Kaneka invests in a US-based medical device company

Kaneka Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Mamoru Kadokura) has entered into an investment and strategic agreement with an undisclosed US-based medical device company (“Company”). According to this agreement, Kaneka has made an investment in 18.5% shares of the Company and plans to start sales as the exclusive distributor of the Company’s proprietary FFR products in Japan commencing in 2020. With the addition of the Company’s FFR products, Kaneka expects sales of diagnostic devices to exceed US$ 100 Million by 2022, accelerating the development of this Kaneka business segment in the US, Europe and Asia etc.

FFR (Fractional Flow Reserve): an indicator of the status of blood flow impediment caused by a coronary stenosis, has been used to assess the optimal therapeutic method for ischemic heart disease * ¹ such as myocardial infarction. By using FFR, significant medical cost reduction is expected by measuring the physiologic effect of the stenosis and selecting the best treatment in advance. In Japan, following the clinical remuneration revision of April 2018, the preoperative functional ischemia assessment * ² has been added. Due to this legal reform, the market size for FFR products is projected to expand substantially in the near future.

In addition to its existing products for interventional and intravascular treatment, including balloon catheters and embolic coils, Kaneka will expand its business to include diagnostic medical devices, where considerable growth is expected starting with the FFR products utilizing the Company’s cutting-edge technology.

Kaneka continues to seek partnerships and M&A opportunities and aims to achieve US$ 100 Million in sales in the diagnostic field by 2022, providing solutions that support healthy and energetic lives globally.

1. Ischemic heart disease: a disease in which the blood flow is stagnant, such as the coronaryartery of the heart becoming narrower
2. Functional ischemia assessment: Evaluation of blood flow quantitatively rather than qualitatively by contrast examination