GE MARQUETTE MEDICAL SYSTEMS AND CARDIODYNAMICS INTERNATIONAL
Business Wire
August 26, 1999, 9:29 a.m. PT
Announce Strategic Alliance; GE Marquette
Commits to Initial BioZ.com Purchase of $714,000
Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers
European Congress of Cardiology
MILWAUKEE and SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 26, 1999--GE
Marquette Medical Systems and CardioDynamics International Corp.
(Nasdaq:CDIC), today announced a strategic alliance between the
companies.
The alliance provides GE Marquette exclusive rights to market and
sell CardioDynamics' BioZ(R) noninvasive digital cardiac output
monitoring systems to hospitals in select European countries,
including France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
Additionally, the alliance provides for further avenues of
cooperation, including technology integration. Under the terms of the
agreement, GE Marquette will initially purchase $714,000 of BioZ.com
Systems and accessories to launch its European sales effort. The
companies will be jointly exhibiting the BioZ System at the XXIst
European Congress of Cardiology August 28 - September 1, 1999 in
Barcelona, Spain.
"The BioZ monitoring system answers our customer's needs for an
accurate and noninvasive assessment of cardiovascular function and
complements our overall corporate commitment to reducing costs while
maintaining quality patient care," said Gary Close, vice president of
Global Marketing, GE Marquette Medical Systems. "GE Marquette has
launched a very progressive cardiology management program called
CardioIntelligence, that aggregates the many different data types used
for the comprehensive management of the cardiology patient. The BioZ
system will provide an important and new set of clinical data for a
more complete view."
Michael K. Perry, chief executive officer of CardioDynamics,
stated, "Our alliance with GE Marquette will facilitate tremendous
access to their monitoring and cardiology product platforms and also
will enable us to reach a significantly expanded number of European
customers with our noninvasive cardiac function monitoring technology.
The initial commitment of $714,000 for Europe is sizeable to
CardioDynamics and the partnership is anticipated to significantly
boost future sales."
Perry added, "This alliance builds on CardioDynamics' expertise
in noninvasive monitoring technology and rapid product development, as
well as GE Marquette's recognized position in medical diagnostic and
monitoring equipment to hospitals. GE Marquette has global market
presence and offers great potential to accelerate the use of
noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring. We believe this relationship with
GE Marquette will help establish the BioZ's measurement capabilities
as the Sixth Vital Sign(TM)."
CardioDynamics, with headquarters in San Diego, is committed to
fundamentally changing the way hemodynamic monitoring is performed in
healthcare. The Company's primary products, the BioZ(R) System,
Portable BioZ(TM) and BioZ.com(TM), utilize its proprietary Thoracic
Electrical Bioimpedance (TEB) technology to noninvasively obtain data
on a wide range of hemodynamic parameters. The worldwide market
potential for the BioZ(R) products is estimated to be $4 billion,
together with an additional $800 million in recurring annual revenue
for disposables. For additional information, please refer to the
company's Web site at www.cardiodynamics.com.
GE Marquette Medical Systems is a leading global provider of
medical diagnostic equipment and services including diagnostic
cardiology, patient monitoring and clinical information systems. GE
Marquette, a GE Medical Systems Co., is headquartered in Milwaukee.
Additional information about GE Marquette and its products can be
found on the company's web site at mei.com.
GE Medical Systems is a $6 billion business, employing nearly
20,000 people worldwide. |
