L&K Biomed Enters Brazilian Expandable Cage Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Spinal implant company L&K Biomed announced on the 31st that it has signed a product supply contract worth approximately 40 million USD over 7 years with MIQBA, the largest company in Brazil.

L&K Biomed will supply PassLock-TM expandable cages and various screw products to MIQBA, a local Brazilian company. Initially, it will export an initial shipment worth 5 million USD. It has agreed to send goods worth at least 5 million USD annually. The contract size is 350% compared to last year's sales of about 15.4 billion KRW.

MIQBA manages product import, customs clearance, and inventory, while GF Medical, a key distributor, is one of Brazil's top three spinal implant distributors with over 134 small and medium-sized distributors nationwide and 320 physician customers, responsible for sales to major hospitals.

According to KOTRA, Brazil is the 7th largest country in the world with a population of 215.35 million. As of 2019, the market size for orthopedic implant products was 1.7625 billion USD (approximately 2.3 trillion KRW).

Brazil is the largest market in South America and tends to quickly absorb new products. Recently, Globus Medical introduced expandable products in Brazil and is securing market dominance. Customer interest and demand for expandable cages in Brazil are rapidly increasing.

A MIQBA representative said, "We are looking for expandable TLIF products proven in the recent market," adding, "After being introduced to PassLock-TM, we received satisfactory feedback through meetings with customers and decided to sign the contract."

They added, "We have completed all preparations to proceed with ANVISA fast track for the expandable cages."

PassLock-TM by L&K Biomed, which received approval from the US FDA in March this year, is a posterior and posterolateral insertion type with the highest procedure frequency, capable of achieving up to 20 degrees, making it a highly competitive product in the global market.

An L&K Biomed representative said, "We expect to significantly expand the market from local Brazilian companies to nationwide distribution networks and from large distributors in major cities to small and medium-sized cities," adding, "We plan to build sales networks in Brazil, the largest and rapidly growing medical device market in Latin America, as well as in Mexico, Chile, and expand export fronts throughout Latin America."