Rochester Medical inks pact with European distributor

STEWARTVILLE, Minn. (Aug. 23)—A pact with a major Denmark medical product distributor will expand marketing and distribution of Rochester Medical Corp.-manufactured silicone catheters into the European medical product market. The agreement with Coloplast A.S., which also manufactures a variety of medical goods, calls for it to pay Rochester Medical $1 million for exclusive rights to market and distribute anti-infection Release-NF Foley disposable catheters in all countries worldwide except the U.S., Canada, South Korea and Turkey, according to Anthony J. Conway, CEO and president of Rochester Medical. The Stewartville-based company will manufacture the catheter for Coloplast, but the Denmark firm will market and sell it under its own brand name, Conway said. The pact runs through 2013. Unlike coated catheters, which generally prevent colonization of the catheter surface, Release-NF is used to control release an antibacterial drug into the tissues of the urethral tract.