Medical devices company ICU Medical Inc (NASDAQ:ICUI) announced on Tuesday that it has established a joint venture with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory Inc (OPF), a global IV solutions manufacturing subsidiary of Japan-based Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd.

The joint venture is intended to provide additional supply chain resiliency and innovation to the North American IV solutions market. It combines OPF's expertise and global manufacturing scale, covering 16 separate IV solutions production sites across Asia, with ICU Medical's North American production and distribution in the same category.

Under the agreement ICU Medical will provide commercial services for the joint venture to ensure seamless operations for North American customers. Financial terms include an upfront payment of approximately USD200m from OPF to ICU Medical at inception, performance-based milestones at the end of 2026, and a backend put-call option in 2030 and beyond.

Shuichi Takagi, OPF president and representative director, commented: "Entering the North American market has always been part of our long-term ambition, and this joint venture with ICU Medical is the perfect way to do that. It will allow us to bring our innovative PVC-free technologies -- including admixtures, parenteral nutrition in advanced multi-chamber bags, and premix IV antibiotics -- to a market with an established customer base."