US-based medical device company Inari Medical has signed a joint venture deal with life sciences venture fund 6 Capital, successor fund 120 Capital, and China-based medical device platform VFLO Medical for the distribution of its venous disease technology across the Greater China region.
Under the new agreement, Inari notes it plans to leverage VFLO's infrastructure to commercialise its device, thereby, “benefitting from its local relationships and commercial expertise within the Greater China region”. A company that was incubated by 6 Dimensions and 120 Capital, VFLO will gain the right to use Inari’s technology to manufacture products for domestic sale in Greater China.
Inari CEO Drew Hykes said: “This joint venture allows many different types of patients and hospitals to access and benefit from Inari’s technologies across multiple segments of China’s complex healthcare delivery system.”
Inari is chiefly known for making peripheral vascular devices, including catheters and thrombectomy systems. The company is perhaps best known for FlowTriever, the first mechanical thrombectomy system to receive clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating pulmonary embolism.
Rebecca Zhu, managing partner of 6 Dimensions Capital and director of VFLO Medical, commented: “We share Inari’s unwavering commitment to developing innovative technologies for underserved patients and believe we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those suffering from venous and other vascular diseases in China.”
According to GlobalData analysis, Inari had 13 cardiovascular devices in various stages of development as of May 2024. In November 2023, Inari entered a definitive agreement to acquire LimFlow Medical in a deal worth up to $415m. LimFlow’s main asset was its LimFlow system for transcatheter arterialisation of the deep veins (TADV), which is used in endovascular revascularisation procedures for the treatment of no-option chronic limb-threatening ischemia.
GlobalData’s Market Size & Growth database indicates that the peripheral vascular devices segment was valued at around $9.4bn in 2023. It is forecast to reach a valuation of around $14.9bn by 2033.
Elsewhere in venous diseases, Cardinal Health launched the Kendall SCD SmartFlow device in the US last month, marking the company’s latest compression system to mitigate the risk of venous thromboembolism events (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
A study published in October by UK-based Sky Medical Technology found that its geko device for hard-to-treat venous leg ulcers led to an average cost saving of around £774.14 per patient across the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) versus the standard of care alone.
