Novation and Edwards Lifesciences announced they have entered into a three-year, sole-source strategic relationship that provides the world's market leading heart valve therapies to the more than 100,000 members and affiliates of VHA, UHC, Children's Hospital Association and Provista.
The new agreement with Edwards for its heart valve product portfolio enables Novation to enter the heart valve category for the first time, and expands on the previous relationship between the companies for critical care technologies.
"This heart valve agreement enables Novation to provide marked additional value to hospitals and their patients with Edwards Lifesciences’ clinically proven, life-saving heart valve devices," said David Richman, vice president, Sourcing Operations, Novation.
"We are proud that Edwards believes in Novation’s unique capabilities and we look forward to working with them to deliver value to the members we serve."
More than 100,000 heart valve procedures are performed in the United States every year. There are more than 750 hospital facilities purchasing products via Novation contracts to perform heart valve surgeries and interventions.
"Edwards invests significantly in the development of new treatment options that can provide meaningful benefits to patients, and we look forward to working in partnership with Novation so that heart valve patients can get the treatments they need from Edwards’ comprehensive valve portfolio," said Donald E. Bobo, Jr., Edwards’ corporate vice president, heart valve therapy.
Novation awards product agreements to suppliers by using member-driven criteria and a weighted award decision tool that considers product specification, quality and patient safety, as well as financial factors. This comprehensive competitive contracting process involves clinicians from participating member organizations to the greatest practical degree and follows established principles of the American Bar Association’s Model Procurement Code.