Spectranetics' Quick-Cross Peripheral Support Catheter Approved in Japan

January 29, 2013—Spectranetics Corporation (Colorado Springs, CO) announced that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has granted regulatory and reimbursement approval for the company's Quick-Cross support catheter for peripheral interventions.

The company advised that the approval enables a limited launch in targeted hospitals, followed by a full launch later in 2013. Spectranetics also stated that other products in the family, the Quick-Cross Extreme, Quick-Cross Select, and additional product sizes, have been or will be submitted for Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare review later this year.

According to the company's press release, the Quick-Cross support catheter is used to direct and support guidewire access to vasculature during interventional treatment of peripheral artery disease and critical limb ischemia. Its low-profile, tapered tip eases the crossing of complex and challenging lesions, tracking effectively through the peripheral vasculature. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the Quick-Cross family of support catheters in 2004.

The approval of Quick-Cross represents Spectranetics' first entry into the peripheral intervention market in Japan, where it currently markets its SLS II laser sheaths, LLD lead-locking devices, and ELCA coronary laser atherectomy catheters through its Japanese distributor, DVx, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan).