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| Covidien's Endo GIA line of surgical staplers--Courtesy of Covidien |
Covidien's ($COV) Japanese subsidiary, Covidien Japan Inc., received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for its Endo GIA Reinforced Reload with Tri-Staple technology.
The device contains advanced polymer felt material that allows surgeons to provide additional support to fragile tissues when delivering surgical staples. Covidien expects to release the technology in the Japanese market during the coming months.
"This approval enables Covidien to offer an innovative technology that supports the company's vision of improving patient outcomes and expanding global access to care," Covidien Japan President Ryo Noda said in a statement. "Integrating tissue stapling with buttress provides surgeons with both greater functionality and efficiency."
The news comes on a wave of company change: Covidien spun out its drug business into Mallinckrodt ($MNK) in June, and was forced to cut jobs and close plants after a year of flat sales. The Dublin-based company entered 2014 as a devices outfit, and set its sights on emerging markets. Earlier this month, Covidien snatched up a manufacturer in Brazil and signed up for joint ventures in China and India. Through its efforts abroad, the company hopes to move into the "value segment" and cut costs for patients, Covidien's president of emerging markets Brian King said in a previous statement.
But its focus on foreign markets only represents one piece of the financial puzzle. To bolster sales and speed growth, the company made an $860 million investment in Given Imaging's ($GIVN) PillCam oral endoscopic camera. Covidien recently dropped a renal denervation program due to slow market growth, but plans on boosting R&D and developing drug-eluting balloons--devices with higher profit potential. The company also received FDA approval for a laparoscopic surgical device that it plans on marketing in the U.S. and Europe during the first quarter of 2014.
- read the statement