$5.4m Canadian Contract (Press Release)
Posted on Fri 2nd March 2007
Aircraft Medical, the UK medical devices company, which specialises in airway and diagnostic hand held medical devices, has reached an agreement with Canadian-based Vitaid Ltd for exclusive distribution rights in Canada for the McGrath® Series 5 Laryngoscope (the “McGrath®”), the world’s first self-contained fully portable video laryngoscope. The Directors estimate that the agreement, which runs to December 2012, could generate revenues in excess of $5.4m for Aircraft Medical. The award winning device was originally designed by Matt McGrath, Aircraft Medical’s CEO.
Vitaid Ltd (“Vitaid”) is a leading North American distributor of medical products operating in Canada and the US which specialises in bringing innovative products and technologies to market. The company was incorporated in 1977 as a medical services company providing out-sourced allergy testing and treatment, evolving in 1986 to include medical products distribution. Vitaid maintains long-standing, exclusive distribution agreements with organisations such as Fuji Systems of Japan.
The McGrath® video laryngoscope is a hand held medical device, which is used for a common global medical procedure called tracheal intubation. This allows medics to artificially take control of a patients breathing during general anaesthetic.
Of the 100 million general anaesthetics carried out globally per year, approximately 60 million patients are intubated with use of a laryngoscope. The rest will have a Laryngeal Mask fitted, which is a device invented by LMA, and brought to the Canadian market by Vitaid. Airway problems remain the most frequent cause of death and brain damage associated with anaesthesia. The distribution agreement with Aircraft Medical represents a good strategic fit allowing Vitaid to now cover all airway procedures.
Current working practices in this field use laryngoscopes whose design dates back some 60 years. The McGrath® represents the most significant advancement in laryngoscope design since the 1940’s and is revolutionising global practice of intubation.
The McGrath®’s portability differentiates it from existing video laryngoscopes, which rely on external cables for power and remote monitors. A further key advancement of the McGrath® is that it provides unrivalled vision of the larynx. This is achieved with an onboard miniature camera and display technology, which none of its competitors has. An image of the larynx is captured by Aircraft’s CameraStick™ located inside a patented disposable blade and is transferred through the device to a small flat panel screen mounted at the top of the handle. Clinical studies have demonstrated the McGrath®’s ability to reduce the risks associated with difficult intubations, which can lead to patient trauma, broken teeth, cross infection and in severe circumstances brain damage and death.
Marketing of the McGrath® is aimed at operating theatres (anaesthesiologists), critical care units, ER and other emergency medical services as support for difficult intubation cases and wherever a laryngoscope would be used.
Matt McGrath, CEO of Aircraft Medical commented:
“We are pleased to announce the Vitaid distribution deal for the McGrath® Series 5 for Canada which expands our presence in North America., following our $50m US deal in 2006 with LMA. Aircraft Medical is exploring similar opportunities in other
international territories in response to global demand, and hope to announce further distribution deals in due course. We look forward to working closely with Vitaid to bring the benefits of portable video laryngoscopy to the Canadian market”
David Bowie, Head of Sales and Marketing at Aircraft Medical:
“I am excited about the prospect of completing our sales coverage in North America. The Canadian market is technologically advanced, particularly in the field of video laryngoscopy, and I am looking forward to working with Vitaid to take the next generation of technology that the McGrath® provides to the market.”