According to a company press release, Stereotaxis has entered into a definitive agreement with Medix Japan and Hokushin Medical to distribute its Niobe Magnetic Navigation System for cardiac ablations in Japan. The agreement ensures sales and marketing coverage for Stereotaxis in an electrophysiology market performing approximately 47,000 procedures each year and expected to grow at an annual rate of 10% through 2018. Japan also represents one of the largest medical device markets globally, second to the USA.
“We are very pleased to have the assistance of Medix Japan and Hokushin Medical in bringing our expertise with automated, remote navigation solutions to the Japanese electrophysiology community,” says William C Mills, Stereotaxis chief executive officer. “With an ageing population and increasing rate of arrhythmias and other cardiac conditions, we can offer electrophysiology physicians in Japan greater possibilities in the treatment of their complex cases and make a difference in patient quality of life. We are confident that these two companies, both experts in product promotion with deep understanding of the Japanese medical device industry and strong entrepreneurial spirit, will enthusiastically support our vision in a vital new market.”
Under the agreement, Hokushin Medical will market, sell and distribute the Niobe system and disposable devices to Japanese customers, as well as provide customer training and clinical support. Medix Japan will lead the completion of the post marketing surveillance project as required by Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency. Furthermore, Medix Japan will be charged with securing market authorisation of Stereotaxis’ Vdrive Robotic Navigation System and Odyssey Information Management Solution in the coming months, in order to offer the advantages of the full Epoch Solution to the Japanese market.