October 4, 2002
Terumo Acquires Vascutek of the United Kingdom
--Top Manufacturer of Vascular Prostheses.
Company Plans to Expand its Cardiovascular Businesses.
We would like to announce that the Terumo Corporation (Head office Shibuya-ku, Tokyo: President: Takashi Wachi) has entered into an agreement with Centerpulse Ltd. (Head office: Zurich, Switzerland) to acquire Vascutek Ltd. (Head office: Glasgow, U.K.), one of the world's leading manufacturers of vascular prostheses. The final confirmation of this agreement was made between the two companies as of today.
1. An Overview of the Acquired Business
- Name of company: Vascutek Ltd.
- Representative: Roshan Maini, President
- Head office: Glasgow, U.K.
Sales office: U.S.A., Germany, France, etc.
- Scope of business: Manufacturing and distribution of vascular prostheses
- Total number of employees: 240 (Group total)
- Sales: 5 billion yen (Group total, fiscal year ended December 2001)
2. Contracting Party of this Acquisition
- Name of company: Centerpulse Ltd.
- Representative: Urs Kamber, CEO
- Head office: Zurich, Switzerland
- Scope of business: Manufacturing and distribution of artificial joints, materials for dental treatment, etc.
3. The Objective of this Acquisition
Terumo is undertaking strategic expansion in the cardiac and vascular areas, which include catheter systems for vascular diagnosis and treatment, artificial cardiopulmonary systems and left ventricular assist systems. With this latest acquisition of a vascular prostheses business, we aim to further strengthen our business in this area. Vascular prostheses are used for treating a wide range of vascular disorders including abdominal and thoracic aneurysms and this new division is expected to have a synergistic effect in conjunction with our existing businesses. In addition, since we have been working on developing our own vascular prostheses, these and Vascutek products can be made more competitive by mutually complementing each other. Another benefit is that we will be able to exploit Vascutek's global distribution channel as our basis of business.
The cardiovascular market is said to be growing by about 10% annually due to the increase in the number of patients with circulatory disorders worldwide. We plan to reinforce and expand this area as our strategic business and aim to become the number one company worldwide.
4. Schedule
The transaction is scheduled to be closed during November, 2002.
Reference: About artificial blood vessels
Blood is pumped out of the heart and is sent to organs, such as the brain and the kidneys, by way of blood vessels 26-18 mm in diameter called aortas. An aneurysm is a portion of an aorta or artery, where the blood vessel swells to a diameter larger than usual or bulbs up into a knot. If this portion bursts, massive bleeding occurs, sometimes resulting in death. Depending on the site of development, aneurysms can occur in the abdominal aorta, the aneurysm of chest aorta thoracic aorta, etc. Surgical operations for substituting a swollen or knotted portion with an vascular prostheses (i.e., vascular prostheses substitution method) are in common use.
Vascular prostheses are made of materials such as polyester fiber or PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene). These vascular prostheses are widely used in medical treatment because they rarely exhibit a foreign-body reaction or other adverse effects after being transplanted into the human body. The basic features required of vascular prostheses include "easy to sew," "no blood leakage through the blood vessels," and "the prevention of thrombi and high adaptability in human bodies."
Vascular prostheses are also widely utilized for blood bypassing during hemodialysis and for the treatment of blocked lower limb arteries.
