Trimedyne Links Up With Japanese Company

Trimedyne, the Santa Ana-based maker of laser and fiber-optic devices for medical uses, said it has formed a partnership with Mitsubishi Rayon Ltd. of Japan to develop a number of fiber-optic products for use in the medical, automotive and computer industries.

Michael R. Henson, president of Trimedyne, said the agreement calls for the two companies to combine their technologies to develop and market the products through Trimedyne’s subsidiary, Poly-Optical Products.

Mitsubishi Rayon, itself a maker of acrylic optical fibers that are primarily used in industry, will fund Poly-Optical in its research, manufacturing and marketing of the products.

Also, Mitsubishi has purchased a 10% equity interest in Poly-Optical. Henson said that he was prohibited by the agreement from disclosing the exact dollar amount of the purchase, but he did say that Mitsubishi paid “just under $1 million,” and that Mitsubishi could ultimately pump nearly $2 million into the partnership over the next two years should it exercise all of its options in the agreement.