SAN DIEGO, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Volcano
Corporation (Nasdaq:
VOLC), a leading developer and manufacturer of precision
intravascular therapy guidance tools designed to enhance the
diagnosis and treatment of coronary and peripheral vascular
disease, said today it has reached an agreement with Fukuda Desnhi
Co., Ltd. to end its distribution agreement in Japan.
This transaction follows the successful transition of its
distribution from Goodman to direct in Japan in July 2009. Fukuda,
which distributes Volcano IVUS offerings to the cardiology market
only, currently serves approximately 180 centers and accounts for
approximately 20 percent of Volcano’s revenues in Japan—and
approximately five percent of the company’s total revenues. The
transition will take effect on December 1, 2010.
“Over the past 14 months, we have demonstrated the success of
our expanded direct sales effort in Japan through growing revenues
and increased market share. Upon completion of the Fukuda
transition, we will be directly addressing nearly 95 percent of our
total revenues in Japan, where we have a direct sales force of more
than 50 and a total work force of more than 100,” said Scott
Huennekens, president and chief executive officer of Volcano.
“As was the case with the Goodman transition, we expect this
transaction to benefit us in several ways. We will receive direct
pricing, which is currently approximately 30 percent higher than
distributor pricing, as well as potentially realize increased gross
margin and operating income on these revenues. In addition, we
anticipate additional opportunities to further our market
share strategy as we leverage our growing infrastructure in
Japan—not only with our IVUS offering, but also distributed
products and those in our pipeline that we will begin introducing
in Japan next year,” he continued.
“These include o
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