Broncus Technologies, Inc., a medical device company focused on developing and commercializing innovative solutions for lung diseases, announced today at the American College of Chest Physicians CHEST 2009 meeting that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Medico's Hirata as the sole distributor of their LungPoint system and Yield catheters in Japan. LungPoint is a computer-assisted image-guided navigation system for the lungs and is used for planning and guiding bronchoscopic procedures. The Yield Mini Doppler Probe and Transbronchial Coring Needles are used to acquire tissue samples during bronchoscopy.
Japan is one of the major world markets for bronchoscopy procedures and, according to the latest data from the Japan Society for Respiratory Endoscopy (JSRE), close to 75,000 bronchoscopies are performed each year. Under terms of the agreement, Medico's Hirata will have the exclusive rights to market and sell LungPoint and Yield products throughout Japan.
"We are excited to secure the distribution rights to the LungPoint system and Yield catheters and believe that there is a large market for both products in Japan," states Masataka Hirata, President of Medico's Hirata. "We hope to enable Japanese pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons to perform more efficient and accurate bronchoscopies and reduce the need for their patients to have to undergo repeat or more invasive procedures."