Fujifilm acquires a Brazilian sales agency for medical products.

FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO: Shigetaka Komori) has announced that it signed an agreement to acquire the 100% of the shares of the Brazil-based medical product sales agency NDT Comercial Ltda (hereinafter “NDT”) through FUJIFILM do Brasil Ltda (President: Yasutomo Maeda). As a subsidiary of Fujifilm, NDT will start its operation as of April 1, 2010. Through this acquisition, Fujifilm will establish a direct-sales mechanism for its medical products in Brazil.

NDT has long marketed Fujifilm’s medical products, such as X-ray films, to medical institutions across Brazil. In recent years, amidst the tide of digitization in the field of medical imaging, the company has provided comprehensive solutions incorporating the digital X-ray imaging and diagnostic system “FCR”*1 and the medical-use picture archiving and communications system “SYNAPSE”*2 to create fresh demand. In the autumn of last year, the Sao Paolo government chose “SYNAPSE” for its medical project SEDI*3 in recognition of the system’s advanced stability and high image quality as well as NDT’s ability to facilitate system introduction and provide maintenance services. NDT is expected to make continued contribution to Brazil’s medical frontline.

In Brazil, where the medical field is expected to undergo greater digitization and market expansion*4 on the back of strong economic growth, Fujifilm will integrally and swiftly deploy its global strategy under the direct marketing system through NDT. Marketing and sales activities that closely addresses diverse market needs will lead to future expansion of the company’s medical business.

* *1 Fuji Computed Radiography, or FCR is Fujifilm’s medical-use digital X-ray imaging and diagnostic system with top global market share, originally introduced in 1983 ahead of world competitors. It reads X-ray image information recorded on the Imaging Plate (IP) and performs optimum digital image processing according to diagnostic purposes.
* *2 The brand name of Fujifilm’s radiology PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System, i.e. a medical image information system that electronically archives, searches, and analyzes images from medical image diagnosis systems such as CT, MRI and CR). With its exceptional stability and high image quality, the product boasts top market share in Japan, and has been introduced to approx. 2,800 medical institutions around the world.
* *3 A large-scale medical project by the state government of Sao Paolo. It uses IT to concentrate the diagnostic imaging function for higher diagnostic productivity, and incorporates private hospitals’ management know-how to streamline the management of public hospitals. The project aims at performing 2 million tests per year at 20 facilities by the end of 2010.
* *4 Digitization is in progress in the area of X-ray diagnostics in Central and South Americas. The demand for CR (Computed Radiography) has shown a strong increase at around 20% per year.

Overview of NDT
Business description:
Sales and maintenance services for medical products such as X-ray films, medical diagnostic imaging devices and medical-use image information systems, as well as the materials and equipment for nondestructive tests
Capital 6,875,000 reals
Headquarters Sao Paolo, Brazil
Establishment 1981
Number of employees 147