Wednesday December 8, 6:04 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Cell Robotics Launches Direct Sales of the Personal Lasette to Diabetics
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 8, 1999--Cell Robotics International Inc. (OTC BB: CRII - news), developer of the Lasette®, a laser finger perforator used for sampling capillary blood for testing glucose for people with diabetes, Wednesday announced that it has launched the direct sales of its award-winning, Personal Lasette technology to the home market through direct mail, over the Internet, telemarketing and also through advertising in major diabetic publications.
The Lasette, which eliminates needle-phobia, minimizes pain and reduces soreness of the fingertips, is the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared alternative to steel lancets or needle-sticks for drawing capillary blood.
Cell Robotics and Chronimed Inc. have agreed to modify their distribution agreement and collaborate on the marketing and sales of the Lasette products. Under this new arrangement, Cell Robotics will launch the new Personal Lasette and sell it directly to the home-use customers, thereby eliminating distributor costs.
Chronimed will continue to lead in the marketing and sale of the Professional Lasette.
''No approved medical device obviates the need to draw blood for glucose monitoring for insulin injection purposes,'' commented Dr. Ronald K. Lohrding, Cell Robotics' president and chief executive officer. ''We are delighted to be able to ship the Personal Lasette to customers by Christmas.
''We are also excited about being able to sell the Personal Lasette directly to home-use customers which will enable us to receive immediate customer feedback, to increase our profit margins, and to control our own destiny.
''With innovative engineering, research and product design, we have been able to reduce the sales price from $2,000 for our Professional Lasette for clinical use, down to $995 for the new Personal Lasette for home-use being sold today'', said Lohrding.
Manufacturing of the Personal Lasette is being ramped-up and initial shipments will commence on Dec. 15, 1999. The marketing and sales campaign was initiated today with a direct mailing to those persons whom Cell Robotics believe to be the ''hottest prospects'' from a list of several thousand prospective and highly qualified customers that have requested information.
Each customer order requires a prescription from their doctor to be mailed to Cell Robotics. The customer order may be placed though the mail, website (www.cellrobotics.com), e-mail (Lasette@cellrobotics.com), toll-free call (800/846-0590) or via fax at 505/344-8112.
The U.S. market for the Personal Lasette is the approximately 4 million diabetics that must daily monitor their glucose levels with finger sticks and do insulin injections. The initial marketing effort will focus on the diabetics who are newly diagnosed, tired of having sore fingers, children, or those who are needle phobic.
''Needle phobia afflicts up to one-third of all patients with type I diabetes ... The symptoms of needle anxiety can be subtle and easily missed because the majority of patients suffer in silence, rarely telling others of their fears or demonstrating overt symptoms of their terror,'' said Dr. Follansbee in Pediatric News 32(12):36, 1998.
The Lasette has been granted FDA clearance for the home-market and recently presented awards for outstanding technical achievement by receiving both the Research and Development Magazine's ''R&D 100'' award and Photonics Spectra's ''Circle of Excellence'' award. At the time the FDA clearance was received, Dr. Gerald Bernstein, former president of the American Diabetes Association said, ''The laser has the capacity to (test) without causing any pain. Therefore, people are apt to use it, which would be incredibly important.''
Also, Dr. Susan Alpert, FDA's chief of medical device evaluation stated, ''I expect this will be a big quality-of-life deal for many diabetics. Patients report that it is more comfortable for them, and they're thrilled.''
Finally, ''Many of my patients experienced less immediate and residual pain using the Lasette and the patients finger appears to heal faster'' stated Dr. Robert Bernstein, director, Regional Endocrinology Clinic of Santa Fe, N.M.
In addition to the Lasette, Cell Robotics manufactures the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Workstation that is approved for sale in Europe and is increasing fertility rates there, and the Cell Robotics Workstation, a research instrument that incorporates the LaserTweezers® and LaserScissors(TM) for manipulating and cutting cells and chromosomes.
Additional information is available on the Cell Robotics Web Site at cellrobotics.com, by e-mail at crii@cellrobotics.com, or by telephone at 505/343-1131.
As a cautionary note to investors, certain matters discussed in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such matters involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the following: changes in economic conditions; general competitive factors; the company's ability to execute its service and product sales plans; and the risks described from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
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Contact:
Cell Robotics Inc.
Craig Rogers, 719/590-1793
or
RCG Capital Markets Group Inc., 480/675-0400
Retail: Jim Estrada, Brett Maas
Analysts/Institutional: Joe Dorame
Media: Jeff Stanlis |
