Sahajanand Medical Technologies (SMT), the leading manufacturer of cardiac stents in India, announced a strategic partnership with Cordis, Cardinal Health’s interventional vascular business.

The new partnership with SMT in India will provide Cardinal Health access to the fast-growing Indian cardiology market, as the latter marks its entry into the Indian market. SMT has a strong and established sales and direct distribution network across India including Tier II and III cities. Through this partnership, the Cordis range of products would be made available to patients across the country.

According to the Global Burden of Disease study, nearly a quarter (24.8%) of all deaths in India is attributable to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The age-standardized CVD death rate of 272 per 100,000 population in India is higher than the global average of 235 per 100,000 population.

Collaboration between a leading global manufacturer, Cardinal Health, and one of the largest in-bred Indian manufacturers, SMT, will address the high disease burden of cardiac mortality and hospitalizations in India, by providing global quality cardiology and endovascular solutions to hospitals and patients.

The new partnership with Cardinal Health will provide best in class products in cardio access, endo-access, cardiac guide catheter and PTCA balloons segment. This will help Indian patients to have access to world class products in cardiovascular segment. Through this partnership, Cardinal Health will be able to build reliable and efficient channels to reach deep into the Indian market for Cordis products.

Speaking on this synergistic relationship, Ganesh Sabat, CEO, SMT, remarked, “SMT is successful in establishing first of its kind medical device supply chain in India, ensuring direct supply of life saving devices to 80% of cath labs in India. Our partnership with Cardinal Health will further strengthen our core mission of saving millions of lives even in remote areas of India.”

Commenting on the partnership, Amod Bhave, VP, business development, SMT said, “Our strategic partnership with Cordis (Cardinal Health) enables us to complete our offerings in the Medical Devices market. Patients in India, including those getting treated in Tier II & III cities will gain access to high quality products. The partnership also encourages product innovations and will help SMT further cement itself as the leading name in medical devices in India.”

Established in 1998, and headquartered in Gujarat, SMT is the largest developer and manufacturer of precision engineered cardiac products in India.

Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centres, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide.