Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. (Otsuka Holdings) announced the signing of a development and commercialiation agreement with ReCor Medical Inc. (ReCor), a private, medical device company, together with an additional investment.

As part of the agreement, Otsuka Holdings obtained exclusive rights to the commercialization of ReCor’s ultrasound renal denervation technology initially targeting patients with drug-resistant hypertension in Japan, China, Korea and other Asian countries. In Japan, commercialization, including clinical studies, will be conducted by JIMRO Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Otsuka Medical Devices Co., Ltd., the holding company for Otsuka’s activities in the area of medical devices.

ReCor has already initiated the RADIANCE -HTN study, an FDA IDE-approved, randomized, controlled trial of the Paradise System in patients with hypertension in the US and Europe.

Andrew Weiss, president & CEO of ReCor, commented, “We highly value Otsuka’s clinical development and marketing expertise in Asia, including in the area of cardiovascular disorders. Otsuka has been one of our major investors since leading our Series D financing, and we are delighted to extend our relationship with them to the commercialization of our Paradise System in Asia.”

Tatsuo Higuchi, president and representative director, CEO of Otsuka Holdings, said, “We are excited to commercialize ReCor’s unique ultrasound-based renal denervation technology in Asia. This collaboration demonstrates Otsuka’s strategy of leveraging our expertise in select disease areas for the development of medical device-based solutions with the potential to address medical needs that cannot be met by pharmaceutical treatment alone.”