KCI gains approval to expand to Japanese wound-care market 

Japanese health insurance regulators have approved Kinetic Concepts Inc.’s wound-care system for reimbursement.

Japanese physicians who prescribe the company’s V.A.C. Therapy System, will be able to get reimbursed by the government. This move by the government clears the way for Kinetic Concepts (KCI) to have its products sold in Japan.

With this approval in hand from Japan’s Health Insurance Bureau, KCI expects to begin selling the product in Japan in April. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare already granted final regulatory approval for the product back in November.

“Japan represents a very important and underserved market for advanced wound care,” says Catherine Burzik, KCI’s president and CEO. “The people of KCI are committed to helping physicians and nurses improve the lives of wound care patients in Japan.”

V.A.C. Therapy has been used to treat more than 3 million patients worldwide.

San Antonio-based KCI (NYSE: KCI) is a global medical technology company that manufactures and markets products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support systems markets. The company markets its products in more than 20 countries.