Best Medical International, Fairfax County

Best Medical International manufactures a crucial product that helps its users battle devastating cancers. Now, with an assist from VEDP, the company is getting its products into the hands of people who desperately need them.

Best Medical has operated out of Northern Virginia for 50 years and has been in its current headquarters in Fairfax County since 1984. The company manufactures brachytherapy and radiotherapy products as well as radioactive seeds for treating cancer.

The company’s presence in a highly regulated industry means that shipping logistics and vetting of potential partners are crucial for Best Medical. In other words, exporting isn’t just a business decision — it’s the company’s way of contributing to the fight against a public health crisis by making sure its lifesaving treatments are as widely available as possible.

“We mainly create products for cancer treatment, and cancer is everywhere,” said Best Medical Head of Global R&D, Brachytherapy, Cyclotron Systems, and Particle Therapy Manny Subramanian, Ph.D.

Best Medical was founded in 1976, originally operating out of Arlington County. After several acquisitions over the years, the company has a head count of over 400 employees across the globe.

Best Medical began exporting about 15 years ago, starting in Europe and moving into numerous other countries over the years. The company first engaged VEDP through its Trade Show Assistance Program, which provides reimbursements to Virginia companies participating as exhibitors in international trade shows. Most recently, that took the form of a high-profile booth at the 2026 World Health Expo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates that Krishnan Suthanthiran, the company’s founder and president, described as “probably the best trade show we ever had.”

“We had a good location and a larger display because of the financial support we got,” he said. “The larger display allows us to bring more products and more people.”

Best Medical International, Fairfax County

More recently, Best Medical graduated from VEDP’s two-year Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) international business acceleration program, and the company recently began VEDP’s Supply Chain Optimization Program, which helps companies evaluate and strengthen their supply chain processes for use in future exporting.

“For the rest of the decade and the next decade, a lot of positive things are going to happen and export will be key to our survival and growth,” Suthanthiran said.

Best Medical benefits from more than just financial support in Virginia. Its headquarters are a short trip from Washington Dulles International Airport, which serves 60 international destinations and is in the process of upgrading its pharmaceutical shipping capabilities through a partnership with Brussels Airport.

Subramanian recalls working with an Arizona doctor who was treating a patient’s cancer and needed supplies quickly. Despite Best Medical not receiving his request until late in the day, employees stayed late and prepared the product within two hours of the request. A short trip to FedEx at Dulles later, the seeds were on the plane, and treatment began the next morning.

“We are very interested in doing the right thing and the best thing for our patients,” Suthanthiran said. “We do not make products for the sake of making a product. We make products because they’re needed and we sell them at an affordable cost.”

Subramanian estimates that international sales comprise up to 40% of Best Medical’s revenue. In addition to Europe, those destinations include numerous Middle Eastern countries, along with South Korea, Brazil, India, and Chile, the last of which was aided by a VEDP-assisted trade mission.

VEDP’s Trade team has “always brought good leads and well-established contacts for us,” Subramanian said. “Whether it’s marketing or IT or other aspects of the business, they point us to the proper people when it comes to our products in other countries.”

Now the company is focused on continuing to grow its international sales through consistent, targeted outreach. Coming off the successful Dubai experience, Suthanthiran is particularly excited about returning to that event in 2027.

“We’re going to have the same exhibit spot next year,” he said, adding: “We have a product that every hospital needs, and we’re excited about it.”