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April 6, 2015, Tokyo- Terumo Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan; President: Yutaro Shintaku; hereafter, "Terumo") announces that it has concluded a basic agreement with Olympus Corporation (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroyuki Sasa; hereafter, "Olympus") to expand their business partnership covering medical interventional system products in the United States. With this move, both companies will, for the first time, jointly market products in the field of Urology in the U.S., as well as explore opportunities to broaden the types of products offered in the field of Gastroenterology, which is already an established area of focus of the partnership. The objective of the expanded partnership is to achieve business growth in the U.S., the world's largest market for medical devices, by leveraging the competitive advantages of both companies.

The partnership joins the most recognized guidewire brand with the leading endoscope brand. Olympus has the highest market share for endoscopes in the U.S. and also the world. Olympus and Terumo have jointly developed a guidewire since 2009, which is designed for guiding minimally invasive treatment devices during biliary endoscopy procedures.

Through the partnership, Terumo will benefit from the U.S. presence and marketing arm of Olympus in the Urology and Gastroenterology spaces, and Olympus will broaden its assortment of guidewires from Terumo. Terumo's guidewire has gained widespread endorsements in the U.S. as a diagnostic and intravascular treatment tool. The research and development efforts through the partnership will be aligned toward improving quality of care and advancing minimally invasive procedures.

Guidewires produced by Terumo will be supplied by Terumo's U.S. subsidiary, Terumo Medical Corporation, for Olympus's U.S. subsidiary, Olympus America Inc. Plans are in place for Olympus America Inc. to distribute--to the US market--Terumo's urologic products beginning this May and biliary products later this year.

Under the expanded partnership, Terumo projects sales on a scale of 1 billion yen in fiscal 2016. Terumo also intends to continue separately marketing its interventional system products in the fields of cardiology, peripheral artery disease, and neurovascular disease in the United States.

Overview of Terumo Corporation

1. Address: 2-44-1 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
2. Capital stock: 38.7 billion yen
3. President: Yutaro Shintaku
4. Consolidated net sales: 467.4 billion yen (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2014)
5. Main businesses: Manufacturing and sales of medical devices and pharmaceutical products

Overview of Olympus Corporation

1. Address: Shinjuku Monolith, 2-3-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
2. Capital stock: 124.5 billion yen
3. President: Hiroyuki Sasa
4. Consolidated net sales: 713.3 billion yen (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2014)
5. Main businesses: Manufacturing and sales of precision machinery and instruments

Additional information

Terumo subsidiary: Terumo Medical Corporation

1. Address: 2101 Cottontail Lane, Somerset, New Jersey, 08873, U.S.A.
2. Representative: James Rushworth
3. Main businesses: Manufacturing and sales of medical devices in the North American market

Olympus subsidiary: Olympus America Inc.

1. Address: 3500 Corporate Parkway, P.O. Box 610, Center Valley, PA 18034-0610, U.S.A.
2. Representative: Nacho Abia
3. Main businesses: Sales, marketing, and service of life science equipment and medical devices in the U.S. market

About Terumo

Terumo (TSE: 4543) is a global leader in medical technology and has been committed to “Contributing to Society through Healthcare” for 100 years. Based in Tokyo and operating globally, Terumo employs more than 30,000 associates worldwide to provide innovative medical solutions in more than 160 countries and regions. The company started as a Japanese thermometer manufacturer, and has been supporting healthcare ever since. Now, its extensive business portfolio ranges from vascular intervention and cardio-surgical solutions, blood transfusion and cell therapy technology, to medical products essential for daily clinical practice such as transfusion systems, diabetes care, and peritoneal dialysis treatments. Terumo will further strive to be of value to patients, medical professionals, and society at large.

Among the information that Terumo discloses, the forward-looking statements including financial projections are based upon our assumptions using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. Accordingly, it should be noted that actual results may differ from those forecasts or projections due to various factors. Factors affecting to actual results include, but are not limited to, changes in economic conditions surrounding Terumo, fluctuations of foreign exchange rates, and state of competition.

 

Information about products (including products currently in development) included in this material is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.