SMT bags tender to supply 10,000 stents to Italian public hospitals

Indian medical device firm Sahajanand Medical Technologies (SMT) has bagged a tender to supply its drug-eluting coronary stents to public hospitals in a region of Italy over the next two years. The stent maker’s brand was chosen over eight other drug-eluting stents, including those by global stent giants like Boston Scientific, according to a release.

SMT, through its Italian partner ‘EUKON srl’, has signed an agreement with the Emilia Romagna region in Italy to deliver approximately 10,000 of its ‘Supraflex’ stents by 2019, the firm stated.

The firm was awarded the contract for Supraflex after eight months of technical and economical evaluations during the regional tender process. The tender process evaluated products on the basis of quality as well as price offerings from Boston Scientific, Biotronik, Biosensor, Cardinal Health, Envision, Eucatech, Meril and Terumo, SMT stated.

“It’s the first time in Europe that an Indian driven team has proven its mettle against the established DES companies,” stated Gaurav Goel, head of SMT’s Western Europe operations. SMT aims to build on this milestone to “boost” its expansion in Italy and the rest of Europe, he said.

Emilia Romagna is one of the most populous regions of north Italy, with 15 cath labs performing 10% of Italian Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) that include stenting procedures.