HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Leading global, integrated healthcare services and products company, Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH), today announced that it will bring its powder-free gloves product line to Hong Kong while further penetrating the disposable drapes and gowns segment as part of its expansion in Asia.

Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had announced a proposed ban on powdered surgical gloves in March¹, many users in the region are still using traditional powdered gloves that can cause allergy and respiratory problems to medical professionals, and pose even more hazards to patients.

“There is a tremendous demand for powder-free gloves in Asia,” said Carl Hall, vice president/managing director of Commercialization, Asia-Pacific at Cardinal Health. “In this region, aside from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, approximately 70% of users are still using powdered gloves. Our goal is to help Asia move to a powder-free environment in order to improve the safety and health of patients and clinicians.”

Cardinal Health will showcase its range of powder-free gloves at the upcoming 5th ASIORNA Conference and 7th Asian Perioperative Nursing Leadership Forum; both will be held in Hong Kong from October 8 to 10. In addition to fluid management solutions, Cardinal Health will highlight its disposable drapes and gowns. Both items are competitive in cost per use, and cause less environmental stress than reusables, which require laundering².

“Single-use surgery products are the future for infection control,” Hall said. “The disposable option is more economical, creates less pollution and ensures safety.”

According to a report by the Freedonia Group³, an international industry market research firm, the world demand for disposable medical products is to rise 6.6% annually to $245 billion by 2018. The strongest influence on growth will involve the upgrading and stricter enforcement of infection prevention protocols by hospitals and other health facilities throughout the world. The growth in the BRIC countries, and other emerging economies in the Asia Pacific, will exceed the world average as their healthcare sectors expand, modernize, and adopt formal infection prevention protocols.

As part of its Asia expansion, Cardinal Health acquired interventional cardiology product manufacturer Cordis, which provides a broader footprint for distribution of its products and services.

¹ http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm491466.htm

² Cardinal Health Making the sustainable choice, A comparison of single-use and reusable surgical gowns brochure

³ http://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-study/3205/world-medical-disposables.htm

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