Clearstream to supply J&J with new catheter devices

Medical devices group Clearstream Technologies has signed a landmark deal with US health care giant Johnson & Johnson.

The Arklow-based manufacturer of cardiac intervention devices has agreed to supply its latest balloon catheter to the US group's Cordis subsidiary in a three-year deal.

The catheter will be marketed by Cordis under the Crescendo brand in all markets except the US, Canada and Japan.

"This contract with a world player will significantly increase our production volume and we are already taking on extra staff to cope with a further ramp up in production in the first quarter of our next fiscal year," said chief executive Andrew Jones.

"It is a tribute to the quality of our staff and our prodcuts that we can meet the very highest standards demanded by Cordis."

The three-year deal is non-exclusive and Clearstream will continue to distribute the product under its own name and supply unbranded products to other companies.

Catheters are tiny devices used to prop open arteries during minimally invasive surgical procdures. Clearstream's latest version is smaller and more flexible than earlier models, allowing it to be used in the treatment of lesions in smaller and more delicate coronary arteries.

"Everyone is trying to get into these areas," said Mr Jones.

Clearstream said it brought out this latest device just three months ago. Mr Jones said Cordis had already been assessing the previous version of the product and moved quickly to take advantage of the newer model.

Cordis expects to market the catheter from the end of the third quarter of this year.

"The addition of the Crescendo Balloon to our line of products used by interventional cardiologists adds even mre to the depth of our innovative portfolio," said J&J chairman Rick Anderson.

Clearstream, which employs about 150 people, was bought out of US group Angio Dynamics in 2000. In November 2004, it floated on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), raising €7 million. Earlier this year, it raised a further €4.4 million in a market placing.