Terumo Corporation Says To Part Ways With Boston Scientific Corporation
SOMERSET, N.J., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- With the vascular interventions market surging 12 percent annually, Terumo Medical Corp. -- a division of Terumo Corp. -- announced that it will launch a new direct sales, marketing, and distribution strategy in the United States and Latin America.
The new strategy will strengthen relationships between Terumo and thousands of specialists across the United States and throughout Latin America, including interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, interventional neuroradiologists and vascular surgeons. The announcement comes in support of Terumo Corp.'s global strategy to expand its presence in all markets with particular focus on the United States, a market that accounts for approximately 50 percent of all interventional products sold worldwide.
The new strategy replaces the 15-year relationship between Terumo and Boston Scientific through which Boston Scientific provided marketing, sales and distribution of Terumo's vascular interventional products.
"This new direction demonstrates the commitment we have to developing the resources necessary to address the growing demands of this market and to maintaining Terumo's excellence in the eyes of our customers," said Jim Rushworth, Vice President and General Manager, Terumo Interventional Systems. "We have developed robust distribution, supply and service capabilities from over 30 years of experience in serving many diverse segments of the medical device market -- we are simply applying those capabilities to our interventional business to better service our customers."
The new strategy, which goes into effect April 1, 2006, enables Terumo Interventional Systems and Terumo Latin American Corp. to take over the marketing, sales, distribution and service of its full line of market-leading interventional vascular products, including Glidewire® hydrophilic coated guidewires -- considered the gold standard in wires used to access and cross difficult to treat lesions; Glidecath® hydrophilic coated catheters; and Pinnacle® introducer sheaths. Terumo currently employs this strategy for its full line of peripheral embolization products, including Bead Block(TM) microspheres and ProgreatTM microcatheters.
In announcing the new distribution strategy, Terumo unveiled the expansion of its internal and external sales teams and the tripling in size of its marketing team. As of the end of November Terumo Interventional Systems has grown its direct sales force four-fold, an expansion being lead by Bob Huerkamp, National Sales Manager for Terumo Interventional Systems.
Terumo has already started a national communications program to inform its customers of the April 2006 transition. In May of 2005, Terumo distributed a direct mail communication to more than 30,000 customers in the clinical community across the country providing them with an overview of the new strategy.
"By taking these products directly under our umbrella, we can further enhance our customer relationships and more directly tie our product development efforts to the needs of the medical professionals we serve in these markets," said Rushworth.
Customers can contact Terumo directly by calling our customer service team at 800-888-3786 or by visiting www.terumomedical.com/interventional.
Terumo Medical Corporation -- Clinical Excellence in an Expanding Interventional Market
Founded in 1972, Terumo Medical Corporation (TMC) develops, manufactures and markets high-quality medical devices used in a broad range of applications in numerous healthcare markets. Terumo Medical manufactures high quality needles and syringes, entry site management products, and a line of sterile connection devices used in hospitals and blood banks worldwide. Terumo Interventional Systems, a division of TMC, sells a full line of guidewires, catheters, introducer sheaths, and embolization products for use in a multitude of different interventional procedures. Interventional radiologists, interventional neuroradiologists, interventional cardiologists and vascular surgeons are among the medical professionals that depend upon TIS products to access and cross difficult to reach lesions thereby allowing therapeutic intervention in previously unreachable vascular beds.
ABOUT TERUMO CORPORATION.
Terumo Medical Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Terumo Corporation, one of the world's leading medical device companies, with $2.3 billion in sales and operations in more than 150 nations. Founded in 1921, the company develops, manufactures and distributes world-class medical devices including products for use in cardiothoracic surgery, interventional procedures, and transfusion medicine; the company also manufacturers a broad array of syringe and hypodermic needle products for hospital and physician office use. Terumo contributes to society by providing valued products and services to the healthcare market and by responding to the needs of healthcare providers and the people they serve. Terumo Corporation's shares are listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (No. 4543, Reuters symbol <4543.T>, or Bloomberg 4543:JP) and is a component of the Nikkei 225, Japan's leading stock index.
Source: Terumo Medical Corporation