Cardiac Science Signs OEM Agreement With Nihon Kohden of Japan to Supply Automated External Defibrillators
Japan's Largest Medical Company to Sell Cardiac Science AEDs in the Japanese Market and International Markets Worldwide
IRVINE, Calif. and TOKYO, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cardiac Science Inc. (Nasdaq: DFIB - news) and Nihon Kohden Corporation, (Tokyo: JP: 6849), Japan's largest medical device manufacturer, today announced a strategic OEM distribution agreement under which Nihon Kohden will market Cardiac Science's complete line of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) under Nihon Kohden's tradename in Japan and other international markets. Nihon Kohden also obtained exclusive distribution rights to market the Cardiac Science Powerheart® CRM(TM) fully-automatic bedside defibrillator-monitor and proprietary disposable defibrillation electrode pads in the Japanese market.
Initial shipments of AEDs to Nihon Kohden are expected to begin early in the second quarter of this year. Cardiac Science's AEDs are approved for sale in Japan and, to date, have been sold to Japan Airlines (Tokyo: JP: 9201) and a number of medical facilities throughout Japan. Commercial shipments of Powerhearts are anticipated to commence subsequent to regulatory clearance by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare.
``We are keenly focused on gaining a significant share of the fast-growing AED market in the U.S., Japan, and other countries worldwide. To that end, our strategy is to align ourselves with strong strategic distribution partners who have the market presence to gain and control a dominant share of their respective AED markets and also have the vision to help us achieve our longer-term goal of making our unique Powerheart technology a new standard of care for hospitalized cardiac patients,'' said Raymond W. Cohen, Cardiac Science's president and CEO. ``Given the competitive advantages of our AED product and the magnitude of Nihon Kohden's distribution capabilities, we anticipate, in 2002 and beyond, greatly accelerating our revenue from the emerging Japanese AED market.''
About Automated External Defibrillators
AEDs are portable easy-to-use devices that deliver a life-saving electric defibrillation shock to the heart to halt sudden cardiac arrest -- rapid and chaotic heart activity -- and restore a normal heart rhythm. AEDs are used by first responders such as police, fire and ambulance personnel, and are also being deployed for use by the public at places where people gather, play and work. Currently, a person who suffers sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital has only around a 5 percent chance of surviving. Clinical studies have revealed that survival rates between 30 to 75 percent are possible when an AED is readily available and used to shock a victim within 3 minutes from the onset of cardiac arrest.
About the Japanese AED market
According to market analysis published by Frost & Sullivan, it is estimated that the worldwide market for AEDs will expand fivefold to more than 300,000 units a year by 2006, accounting for more than $650 million in annual revenue. The potential Japanese AED market is estimated to be as much as 20 percent the size of the combined U.S. and European markets. Potential AED users in Japan include approximately 89,000 medical and dental clinics, 53,000 police, fire and emergency vehicles, thousands of commercial buildings and government facilities as well as 41,000 schools and 2,000 golf courses.
In October 2001, Cardiac Science announced that JAL agreed to purchase 130 of its Survivalink®-brand AEDs for deployment on its fleet of commercial airliners. JAL is the first non-medical organization to purchase AEDs and the first Japanese airline to deploy AED's on its aircraft and train its flight attendants and crew. Approximately 40 Cardiac Science AEDs were sold by a Japanese distributor to medical clinics throughout Japan in Q4 2001.
Beginning in December 2001, a new interpretation of current Japanese legislation allows trained flight personnel to use an AED to defibrillate a person after placing a call to a doctor. Prior to this new interpretation, only licensed physicians or paramedics under a physician's direct supervision were allowed to use a defibrillator. Legislative initiatives, led by Japanese emergency physicians and cardiologists, are currently pending to expand AED use to include trained laypersons throughout Japan. As an important step in this process, the Japanese language version of the revised American Heart Associations CPR and Emergency Cardiac Care Guidelines 2000 were formally introduced in December. These new global standards establish specific response time goals for immediate defibrillation for the treatment of people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest.
About Nihon Kohden Corporation
Nihon Kohden, based in Tokyo, Japan, develops, manufactures and distributes a variety of diagnostic medical devices including patient monitoring systems, electrocardiograms (EKGs), electroencephalograms (EEGs), cardiac monitors and external defibrillators and has annual revenue in excess of $500 million.
Nihon Kohden currently holds about 50 percent of the Japanese domestic defibrillator market, which includes traditional hospital crash-cart defibrillators and ambulance defibrillators. Approximately $20 million of standard external defibrillators were sold in Japan in 2000. Nihon Kohden products are marketed in Japan by its approximately 650-person direct sales force and by distributors in more than 100 countries worldwide.
About Cardiac Science
Cardiac Science develops, manufactures and markets life-saving automatic external cardiac defibrillator devices and proprietary disposable defibrillator electrode pads that monitor and treat patients who suffer life-threatening heart rhythms. The Company recently gained FDA clearance for its low-cost, second generation defibrillator-monitor, the Powerheart® Cardiac Rhythm Module (CRM(TM)). The Powerheart CRM is a fully-automatic bedside defibrillator-monitor that continuously monitors hospital patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, instantly detects the onset of a life-threatening tachyarrhythmia, and, when appropriate, delivers defibrillation shocks within seconds and without human intervention to convert the heart back to its normal rhythm. Powerheart® and Survivalink®-brand automated external defibrillators (AEDs) along with Artema®-brand emergency defibrillators and patient monitoring products are marketed in the United States by its 45-person direct sales force and by international distributors in more than 40 countries around the world. For more information please visit www.cardiacscience.com . For additional investor information please visit www.allencaron.com .
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements include, but are not limited to the life-saving potential of Cardiac Science's technology and the size of the AED market. Cardiac Science cautions that these statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties and are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements and should not be relied upon by investors when making an investment decision. Information on these and other factors is detailed in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2000 and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For further information, pleased contact: investors, Matt Clawson, matt@allencaron.com, or Lynn Johnson, or media, Len Hall, len@allencaron.com, all of Allen & Caron Inc, +1-949-474-4300, for Cardiac Science, Inc.; or Michael Gioffredi, VP Sales & Marketing of Cardiac Science, Inc., +1-949-587-0357, mgioffredi@cardiacscience.com.
SOURCE: Cardiac Science, Inc.
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