HEALTH CARE : I-Flow’s IV Pump Business Streaming Into Markets in Japan and Across Europe
I-Flow Corp. is all pumped up about its international sales opportunities.
The Irvine maker of intravenous pumps for use in hospitals and homes said it has signed deals with companies in Japan and Europe to sell its products overseas. The three-year contracts, negotiated separately but finalized at the same time, are worth more than $3 million in total revenue. That works out to about $1 million a year--a 50% boost for the small 3-year-old company, which had revenue of $1.9 million for its latest fiscal year.
One agreement is with the giant Japanese drug firm Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals, whose division, Kobayashi Medical, will distribute I-Flow’s Paragon, a spring-loaded pump that can be used by patients while allowing them to walk, work or drive.
It will later distribute I-Flow’s SideKick pump, which was designed for home-care use.
“We’re excited about the contract,” said president Don Earhart, adding that it marks the firm’s first foray into Japan. “This will be really good for us.”
The other contract allows Spruyt-Hillen BV in The Netherlands to distribute the Paragon and SideKick pumps to Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg.
I-Flow already sells its products in Italy and Ireland and is currently seeking health ministry approval for sale of the devices to Germany and France.
Earhart said that he expects the first shipments to be made in the third quarter.
But as happy as the news is for I-Flow, Earhart said that company officials are a little stymied over the names of its products.
It seems that the Paragon pump can not be distributed in Japan under that name because another company already uses that name for a similar product. Kobayashi will soon choose another name for sales there.
And Spruyt-Hillen will change the name of the SideKick for distribution in the Benelux.
Why?
“Because it has the connotation of being related to a druggie,” he said.
Obviously, something must have gotten lost in the translation.
