Kaneka Corporation has announced that—on 23 December 2024—it acquired 96.8% of shares in Israeli medical equipment company Endostream Medical.
By combining its own manufacturing and Endostream’s technology, Kaneka states in a press release that it will jointly develop new medical devices—mainly for cerebrovascular treatment—in addition to the Nautilus device for intrasaccular brain aneurysm treatment that is currently under development.
According to Kaneka, Nautilus is an innovative solution that can treat aneurysms with wide openings in cerebral blood vessels—which has been awaited by the neurovascular community “for many years”. The device has a special structure that can be used in combination with an embolisation coil to block blood flow to the aneurysm, facilitating treatment that would otherwise be difficult with existing devices, Kaneka’s release adds.
Nautilus received regulatory approval in Europe in November 2024, and plans are in place targeting approval and launch in the USA in the spring of 2026 as well as in Japan one year later.
Among multiple products Kaneka offers in the “growing field” of cerebrovascular diseases is its i-ED coil—an embolisation coil intended to prevent damage to cerebral aneurysms that cause subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Kaneka says it is currently expanding its product portfolio for further growth across additional fields, including devices used in the treatment of cardiac, peripheral vascular and gastrointestinal tract diseases. The company is aiming to achieve Nautilus device sales of more than 20 billion Japanese Yen, and sales of 300 billion Japanese Yen across the Health Care Solution Unit incorporating all its medical businesses, by 2030.
