Ignacio Vega and Carlos Ibares Sanz of Spanish medtech Cardiva, explain the group’s origins as a distributor, the growing importance of manufacturing, and the company’s international ambitions.   How has Cardiva evolved since its formation in Bilbao in 1989? Ignacio Vega (IV): Cardiva began life as a distributor, primarily for the US company Medtronic, focused only on northern Spain. In 1990 Cardiva made an agreement with a Scottish company now owned by Therumo and began distributing all over Spain, with offices in Madrid and Barcelona, but our headquarters remained in Bilbao. During the 1990s, we realized that focusing solely on distribution would always be limiting to our growth aspirations, with the continual consolidation, mergers and acquisitions of smaller manufacturing companies making it a very unstable market. Therefore, we began to look at investing in our own manufacturing facilities. We found a small family company in Malaga, southern Spain, which had been developing products for surgical use for J&J. When J&J decided to transfer their manufacturing to China, they looked to sell and Cardiva acquired the company and their factory in 2001. At the same time, we also made a move into China with the acquisition of a manufacturing plant near Shanghai. Our Chinese facility – due to the comparatively lower labor costs – acts as our main manufacturing hub, after which the products are transferred to our Malaga facility which hosts the automated part of our production. We also made the decision to invest in a factory in Barcelona to produce products for vascular diseases in general including all peripheral, coronary and neurovascular areas. Our mentality in Barcelona is to develop the product from the beginning, from the raw material. Having control of the entire production of a product allows us to control costs and compete with the big global medtech companies. With this control, the speed at which we can move, compared to these larger companies, is also a key differentiating factor for us.   What are the items currently at the top of your priority list? IV: We are now investing a lot of money in our Malaga plant because we have grown so quickly and we need larger facilities. Our investments will double the production capacity of the plant. Each day we export more and more products and this is our priority. We want to expand in many countries in order to minimize the risks inherent in focusing on only one country. Currently, between 35 and 40 percent of the Malaga plant’s production goes to exports, but our future goal is that this percentage rises to 90 percent. Carlos Ibares Sanz (CIB): Another of our key priorities is being able to offer medical professionals a complete portfolio of products. This is achieved by offering a combination of products manufactured by Cardiva as well as those distributed by us in agreement with other companies. In terms of manufacturing, we want to consolidate what we already produce as well as expanding capacity. With the upgrades to our Malaga facility, we are now able to manufacture Class III medical devices [usually those that support or sustain human life, are of substantial importance in preventing impairment of human health, or present a potential, unreasonable risk of illness or injury. These devices need premarket approval and a scientific review to ensure their safety and effectiveness]. Another important point is innovation, in terms of new products that we are creating through our own R&D department and perhaps in some cases, through partnerships with other actors. International expansion is also key. We have established direct operations in Portugal and, more recently, in Italy, and we are open to expanding to other countries in the future.   We understand that Cardiva recently inked a distribution deal with Bolton Medical. How do you go about choosing partners to work with and what makes you the partner of choice? IV: Cardiva was already distributing products from Vascutech which is owned by Therumo, for 20 years in Spain and Portugal. When Bolton Medical and Vascutech merged, the decision was taken that Cardiva should also be the distributor for Bolton in Spain and Portugal. We have developed our business closely with Vascutech over the years and although we are officially the distribution arm, in reality the partnership is a lot closer than that. Some of our other partnerships are with smaller companies whose only requirement of us is that we sell – they are purely commercial relationships. CIB: It is often very difficult for American and Asian companies to enter the European market. Europe is not a single entity but by partnering with us, they can easily enter the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian markets – three big markets with close to 150 million people – in one fell swoop and with an experienced partner. Throughout our history we have looked for quality rather than quantity in our partners. We would rather have long-term relationships than a long list of clients and this is shown in our day-to-day activities. We facilitate the contact between our partners and the Spanish, Italian or Portuguese key opinion leaders, we are very transparent, and we invest in these companies. We are not simply a commercializing distributor, but a true partner recreating at a local level what our partners are implanting at the global level.   Cardiva has over 1,000 products, what are your main business lines and which areas are driving growth? IV: For Cardiva Distribution we are involved in everything endovascular which includes brain treatments, neuroradiology, peripheral vascular and coronary. The second main area is pain. Cardiva has been involved in this area for 30 years and we are very well known in this in Spain. Our third line is our Clinical Division, those products we produce ourselves in Malaga and which are marketed in Spain, Italy and Portugal – all of the single-use products needed in the operating room. The future of this area is in offering complete packs which include everything that a surgeon needs to operate. CIB: We are also open new opportunities in areas such as arthroscopy and endoscopy.   Who do you see as your main competition and how does Cardiva differentiate itself? IV: When you are a small, southern European company, you need to develop everything yourself. We gain trust through building relationships with key opinion leaders by inviting them to visit our facilities, for example. We face different challenges than a British, American or German company might but we offer the same level of quality as any other company in the world.

When you are a small, southern European company, you need to develop everything yourself. We gain trust through building relationships with key opinion leaders by inviting them to visit our facilities, for example"