F&P opens new paths to sleeping market

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KEY MARKET: Medical equipment maker Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is launching products that will allow it to target 20 per cent of a key global market for the treatment of sleeping disorders.

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Medical equipment maker Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is launching products that will allow it to target 20 per cent of a key global market for the treatment of sleeping disorders.

F&P said yesterday that it was introducing generators with automatic pressure settings that would prevent the blockages that cause obstructive sleep apnoea, a disorder that disrupts breathing during sleep.

The flow generators automatically detect interruptions to normal breathing and provide airway pressure that matches patients' needs.

Stephen Walker, managing director of fund manager Walker Capital Management, said the market for automatic pressure flow generators made up about 20 per cent of the annual global $US1.7 billion ($NZ2.4 billion) market for sleep apnoea treatment devices.

Sleep apnoea can cause daytime tiredness and is associated with cardiovascular disease and strokes.

The automatic flow generators would help F&P to compete with companies Respironics of the United States and ResMed of Australia, its two main rivals, which both sell this type of device.

The new products would also help F&P to compete better in European and Japanese markets.

"You don't want to be competing in the sleep disorder market and missing out on 20 per cent of it because you haven't got a particular product," Mr Walker said.

In the year to March, F&P's revenue from products to treat sleep apnoea rose 27 per cent to $162.1 million - 46 per cent of group revenue.

At last month's annual meeting, chief executive Mike Daniell estimated that F&P had about 7 per cent of the global market, which is growing by about 15 per cent a year.

F&P is displaying its new generators at the congress of the World Federation of Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine Societies in Cairns, Australia, this week.

Paul Shearer, F&P's senior vice-president of sales and marketing, said the generators would be introduced in Australasia and Europe in the next six months, followed by Asia and the US.

F&P also makes respiratory humidification products and neonatal care products. It is working on new products, including humidification therapy for chronic lung disease.

- © Fairfax NZ News