Shanghai, China, June 15, 2020 – MicroPort Scientific Corporation ("MicroPort®") announced today that its India wholly owned subsidiary MicroPort Scientific India Private limited ("MicroPort® India") has completed a strategic investment in Purple Medical Solutions Private Limited ("Purple Medical") involving a total investment amount of 10 million US dollars. Currently MicroPort® has already completed first round of investment holding 32% of the shares in the joint venture, with an upcoming second round of investment, MicroPort's® shareholding will be increased to 45%. This joint venture will focus on the R&D, production and sales of cardiovascular devices with a broad internationally recognized, high-quality, high efficacy drug eluting stent product portfolio of MicroPort®. Combined with the strong local commercial capabilities of Purple Medical, the venture is expected to be a strong entrant into the local competitor landscape.
Purple Medical was founded in 2007, and its affiliated company, MIV Therapeutics, began manufacturing bare metal stents and drug-eluting stents in 2007. In 2019, Purple Medical became one of the top five domestic manufacturers in the Indian market for drug-eluting stents. Brian Lancelot, one of the founders of Purple Medical, will serve as the CEO and President of the joint venture company and the head of MicroPort® India, Dinesh Arora, will serve as Vice President.
"The Indian market is an important long-term strategic market for MicroPort®, in 2017 MicroPort's® Firehawk® Rapamycin Target Eluting Coronary Stent System （“Firehawk®”) first entered the Indian market. By 2019, MicroPort's® products has already entered over 100 hospitals in India," said Jonathan Chen, Chief International Business Officer for MicroPort®, "Over the next decade, the Indian drug eluting stent market will be the second largest market in the world by annual procedures, second only to China. We are very excited to be partnering with such a strong local partner with established distribution channels and local manufacturing capability to further commercialize MicroPort's® world-class products into the Indian market and better serve local patients.”
"We are delighted to partner with such an internationally prominent medical device company like MicroPort®. MicroPort's® R&D capabilities, product quality control and corporate governance capabilities will help us to shorten the development time, improve product quality, and promote industrial upgrading to international standards, ultimately to better serve the patients and doctors in India,” said Brian Lancelot, CEO and President of Purple, "We are confident in educating about MicroPort's® global leading products and technology to more doctors, and to help improve the local medical level through evidence-based medicine, clinician education and other academic activities.”
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of India has implemented a Foreign Direct Investment approval requirement for any transaction that involves the transfer of beneficial ownership of primary or secondary shares of local Indian companies to companies owned by neighboring nations of India. Such transactions shall require the approval of the Indian government. MicroPort's® upcoming second round of invetment is subject to this approval requirement and will be submitted to the India regulatory body for such approval.