Singapore: Cardinal Health has expanded its current distribution agreement with Biosensors as the exclusive distributor for Biosensors' coronary interventional products in Japan.

The company also signed a distribution agreement with Kaneka that enables Cordis, its interventional vascular business, to distribute Kaneka's percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) balloon catheters in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America (LATAM) and Asia Pacific, including China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. 

"This is a pivotal step in our ambition to expand Cordis' strong and diversified portfolio of products within the cardiovascular space in Asia Pacific," said Patrick Holt, president, Cardinal Health Medical Products Asia Pacific. "We are committed to delivering solutions aligned with government priorities and patient needs to ultimately make a significant contribution to this dynamic region."

Cordis will exclusively distribute Biosensors' BMX-J drug-eluting stent (DES) system and bp22-4D PTCA balloon in Japan. This agreement builds on the existing distribution agreement with Biosensors announced in May 2016, which marked Cordis' return to the DES market in select countries in EMEA, Australia and New Zealand. Biosensors' robust portfolio of products further supports the treatment of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). PCI is a nonsurgical procedure that often uses a catheter to place a stent to open blocked coronary arteries.