Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory (OPF), a subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings, and ICU Medical, a medical device company, have formed a joint venture (JV) for IV solutions to serve the North American market.   

The North American IV solutions market has faced ongoing supply-chain challenges due to supply disruptions resulting from Hurricane Maria in 2017 and Hurricane Helene in 2024. Through the JV, ICU Medical and OPF will work to pursue long-term US Food and Drug Administration approval of overseas manufacturing sites and in the near term, seek import authorization if necessary for the US market while focusing on accelerating new product development. 

The joint venture brings together OPF’s global manufacturing scale—spanning 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. Key economic terms of the joint venture include an upfront payment of approximately $200 million 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. The joint venture is expected to become operationally effective early in the second quarter of 2025. 

Source: ICU Medical