The new business of WSI, a bio-health specialized company, in cardiovascular devices and surgical medical robots is progressing smoothly.
On the 24th, WSI announced that it is currently starting sales and signing unit price contracts with over 50 advanced general hospitals and major university hospitals, including Seoul National University Hospital, for the supply of central venous catheters (CVC) and peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC).
The company actively conducted vigorous sales and marketing activities regarding the main uses of CVC and PICC at the Autumn Academic Conference of the Korean Society of Interventional Radiology, the Autumn Academic Conference of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine, and the International Academic Conference of the Korean Society of Anesthesiologists. It also completed regional distribution contracts with sales agencies in eight regions nationwide.
Since starting full-scale sales in August this year in cooperation with KIMAL, WSI has been expanding sales and increasing market share of central venous catheters (CVC) and peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC). Established in 1964 and headquartered in the UK, KIMAL is a medical device company specializing in vascular access devices and medical packaging, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
WSI expects sales of CVC and PICC items to exceed 3 billion KRW starting next year. The company explained that once the registration and launch of the Altius HF product are confirmed, market share will increase and performance growth will accelerate.
The surgical microrobot technology development of Easy Medibot, a subsidiary in the bio-robotics field, is also progressing smoothly. Research and development were completed as a Ministry of Health and Welfare development project in collaboration with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Seoul National University and Korea Aerospace University, and the technology and patents were fully transferred to the company. Based on this technology, the company is preparing for medical device approval registration for prototype development and launch in 2025.
Additionally, Easy Medibot signed an exclusive domestic supply contract for cardiovascular disease medical devices with Lifetech Scientific, a leading Chinese cardiovascular medical device company. The company has submitted the product approval documents for Lifetech’s heart disease treatment device, KONAR-MF, and is preparing for its launch in the second half of next year.
KONAR-MF is a percutaneous ventricular septal defect closure device used to treat ventricular septal defects, one of the congenital heart defects. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, congenital malformations of the heart septum (disease code Q21) account for 63.7% of all congenital heart diseases, making it a significant market.
It occurs particularly frequently in pediatric patients. KONAR-MF is an interventional device that safely treats the condition in a short time using blood vessels, instead of invasive surgery that opens the chest in pediatric patients. It has also received Compassionate Use approval from the U.S. FDA for pediatric patients and is expected to contribute to the treatment and life extension of patients with congenital heart defects in Korea.
Easy Medibot is also collaborating with LEPU Medical of China to develop and discuss domestic production of sheaths, essential consumables for cardiovascular procedures. This product has an annual demand of over 700,000 units as a reimbursed product, and sales networks are expected to expand by maximizing synergy effects linked with KIMAL and Lifetech products.
A WSI official stated, “The development of surgical medical robots, which our subsidiary Easy Medibot is focusing on, is also progressing smoothly,” emphasizing that a prototype for launch will be presented to developers and investors in the first half of 2025.
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