BSD Medical ($BSDM) inked a wide-ranging deal with Japanese med tech giant Terumo to distribute one of its signature tumor ablation devices in Europe, Western Asia and North Africa.
Neither side is disclosing the financial details, though BSD terms the deal as an "exclusive, long-term, multi-million dollar distribution agreement." We also know that Terumo subsidiary Terumo Europe NV will handle the legwork for product sales for BSD's MicroThermX microwave ablation system. And BSD president and CEO Harold Wolcott said in a statement that he sees the deal as helping the company reach profitability (BSD lost about $4 million in the first 6 months of its 2013 fiscal year, though quarterly losses are improving). Money from the distribution partnership should start pouring in by the end of the third quarter.
Terumo, meanwhile, is a Goliath of a partner, with nearly $5 billion in sales in 2012 and an $8 billion market cap, and its Terumo Europe division already sells devices used for tumor embolization, according to the deal announcement.
For medical device sales (and many other products these days), it's all about globalization, and emerging markets. And this deal accomplishes both and gives BSD enormous room in which to expand. The company says that the target markets covered in its Terumo distribution deal for MicroThermX alone could be worth more than $1 billion annually. And BSD notes in its announcement that Terumo Europe NV's large market reach will help propel those sales--and that alliance will likely accomplish this in a quicker way than BSD could do on its own.
MicroThermX has 510(k) clearance for soft tissue ablation in the U.S. and a CE mark in Europe, the later of which is often recognized in non-EU countries, BSD notes.
- read the release