In the middle of 2016 a strategic partnership was formed between Meril Life Sciences and Uniplex UK Ltd to introduce a premium brand of absorbable and non-absorbable sutures to UK hospital users both in the private sector and the NHS.
Meril focuses on providing surgeons and the field of surgery with wound closure and endosurgical solutions of the highest quality and precision. Uniplex has a track record of on time and accurate delivery of decontamination and haemostatic products stretching over more than a couple of decades and operates throughout the United Kingdom. That liaison has produced results with Uniplex being awarded framework agreements to date with both NHS Supply Chain and the Combined Procurement Partnership, a collaboration of the North of England CPC, the East of England CPC, NHS Commercial and the London Procurement Partnership.
Having secured the bases from which to operate, the Meril/Uniplex partnership set about finding hospitals who were looking for top quality products for less money than they currently pay. Several trials have been ongoing in the current year with significant successes found in the field of cardiac and liver surgery. Meril suture brands are of the highest quality, FDA approved, CE marked and they satisfy all the relevant needs of standards around the world. This was picked up on by Kings Healthcare Trust and substantial and significant trials there have demonstrated that Meril sutures were every bit as good as the market leaders’ and in many instances better. Meril’s extensive range of sutures is made of the finest quality materials, both absorbent and nonabsorbent, all of which offer excellent handling properties and good knot security
Between them Uniplex and Meril can offer up to 30+% budget savings with no loss of quality whatsoever. The ranges that were successfully trialled at Kings included cardiac, paediatrics, trauma, general, maxillo-facial et al, ensuring that a comprehensive study was performed by the users in each discipline. Over 95% of styles of suture used by Kings were matched by Meril products ensuring that users could transition seamlessly to the new sutures as they enabled existent techniques to be maintained without change.
Collaboration is key
In line with deep seated objectives to design and develop novel, clinically relevant, stateof-the-art surgical devices, Meril has been expanding its endo-surgery franchise, first of all to Europe and now to the UK. Meril strives to originate and develop products through innovative thinking, cutting edge technologies and in collaboration with medical professionals and healthcare organisations, aiming to identify clinical needs and translate them into proven products and procedures. Working with Uniplex in the United Kingdom has opened up new opportunities to develop their portfolio of first class sutures, whilst maintaining their clear focus on developing closer relationships with surgeons, their support teams in theatres and the developing procurement processes that are altering the landscape when dealing consumable products within the NHS.
Meril’s manufacturing and headquarters are situated on 180 acres of land in Vapi near Mumbai, and built over a 300,000 square foot area. The ISO13485 and cGMP certified modern manufacturing facility is constructed to satisfy the stringent needs of its’ cardiovascular, orthopaedic, diagnostics and endo-surgery businesses as well as housing its’ R&D endeavours. Fully integrated manufacturing systems ensure backward integration, flawless man-material movement and complete control over processes to eliminate production errors. All manufacturing and sterilisation processes are conducted inhouse, and in addition to the analytical and microbiological QA/QC tests required to meet world-class production standards.
Meeting client demands
In the UK Uniplex has invested heavily in enlarging its’ warehousing facilities in Sheffield and recently installed a state-of-theart Movibloc racking system to increase capacity. The team at Uniplex are accustomed to meeting the demands of its clients on a next day basis and it is both EDI and PEPPOL compliant. GS1 numbering has been adopted throughout the business. Accustomed to dealing with the demands of an ever-growing business supplying haemostats to the NHS and private sectors, Uniplex saw the association with Meril as a logical way to expand its’ portfolio of theatre consumables.
Meril Endo-Surgery has a strong commitment to the design and development of best in class medical devices in an innovative environment addressing the need of surgeons and the issues of patient safety, comfort, and care. Uniplex is equally committed to providing a service commensurate with both Meril’s ambition and the day-to-day requirements of the National Health Service fulfilling all regulatory requirements along the way.
Contact Uniplex on:
Tel:+44 (0)1142 413410
www.uniplexuk.com
Uniplex UK Ltd,
11 Furnace Hill,
Sheffield
S3 7AF
