EANS-Adhoc: LifeWatch AG
Announces `NiteWatch´ Home Sleep Apnea Testing Service
ad-hoc disclosure transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
New Products
28.07.2009
Neuhausen am Rheinfall / Switzerland and Chicago / USA, July 28, 2009 - LifeWatch AG's (SIX Swiss Exchange: LIFE) American subsidiary LifeWatch Services, Inc., the leading provider of wireless telemedicine services in the U.S., is set to expand into the promising sleep apnea home sleep testing market.
LifeWatch, the leading U.S. provider of wireless telemedicine services, announces the expansion of its current remote medical monitoring services with a sleep apnea home sleep testing service. NiteWatch which will be launched during Q4 2009 to specific customers, with an expanded roll-out planned in 2010.
Sleep Apnea, which is characterized by the temporary suspension of breathing during sleep for as much as 100 times a night, affects approximately 38 million individuals in the U.S. Sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, arrhythmias, diabetes, and serious accidents due to fatigue and sleepiness. Patients with untreated sleep apnea have shown to incur double the healthcare costs of those that have been diagnosed and treated. Despite its high prevalence and associated complications, less than 1 in 7 patients who suffer from sleep apnea in the U.S. have been diagnosed.
Failure to diagnose sleep apnea is in part due to the fact that a patient is required to sleep in a strange and uncomfortable environment at a sleep lab or clinic, while wearing an apparatus that makes the act of sleeping almost impossible. Patients are further discouraged by the fact that sleep clinic rooms often book out months in advance due to the increased demand. Alternatively, home sleep testing (HST) solutions are emerging as the appropriate diagnostic solution for more than 95% of sleep apnea cases, as they can be performed in the comfort of one's normal sleeping environment. In early 2009, Medicare issued a coverage decision memo specific to HST for sleep apnea diagnosis after an extensive review of clinical studies conducted to validate the utilization of home sleep testing (HST). The decision declared that the use of home sleep testing technologies demonstrates improved health outcomes in Medicare beneficiaries who have sleep apnea and received the appropriate treatment, and that these tests are thus reasonable and necessary.
"The introduction of home sleep testing will greatly improve the quality of life of the many patients who are reluctant to go to a sleep lab", stated Alan Kadish, M.D. "By offering services in the comfort of their home, these patients are almost certain of receiving a correct diagnosis which can be treated appropriately," he added. Dr. Kadish is a member of LifeWatch's Medical Advisory Board is a fellow of both the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association and Senior Associate Chief of Cardiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Yacov Geva, Chairman and CEO of LifeWatch AG, stated, "We are excited to announce our first steps into the promising home sleep testing market, and are confident that our NiteWatch service will contribute to a patient's improved quality of life through earlier and more accurate detection that allows for more appropriate treatment options".
About LifeWatch AG
LifeWatch AG, headquartered in Neuhausen am Rheinfall and listed on SIX Swiss Exchange (LIFE), Switzerland, is the leading healthcare technology and solution company, specializing in advanced telehealth systems and wireless cardiac monitoring services. LifeWatch services treat high-risk and chronically ill patients, health conscious consumers and wellness programs. LifeWatch has subsidiaries in the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Israel. LifeWatch AG is the parent company of LifeWatch Services Inc., a leading US-based cardiac monitoring service provider, and manufacturer of telecardiology products. www.lifewatch.com
Sign-up for customized e-mail alerts and documentation requests is available at http://production.investis.com/lifewatch/alert-service/
This press release includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. LifeWatch AG has based these forward looking statements largely on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect the financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short term and long term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances described may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based only on data available to LifeWatch AG at the time of the issue of this press release. LifeWatch AG does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT BEING ISSUED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND SHOULD NOT BE DISTRIBUTED TO UNITED STATES PERSONS OR PUBLICATIONS WITH A GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF SECURITIES OF LIFEWATCH AG OR ANY OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES FOR SALE IN THE UNITED STATES OR AN INVITATION TO SUBSCRIBE FOR OR PURCHASE ANY SECURITIES OF LIFEWATCH AG OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES IN THE UNITED STATES. IN ADDITION, THE SECURITIES OF LIFEWATCH AG AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES LAWS AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD OR DELIVERED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. PERSONS ABSENT REGISTRATION UNDER OR AN APPLICABLE EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES LAWS. ANY PUBLIC OFFERING OF SECURITIES TO BE MADE IN THE UNITED STATES WILL BE MADE BY MEANS OF A PROSPECTUS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM LIFEWATCH AG OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AS APPLICABLE, AND WILL CONTAIN DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE ISSUER AND ITS MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE ISSUER.
Press Release
July 28, 2009
end of announcement euro adhoc
Further inquiry note:
Kobi Ben Efraim, Chief Financial Officer, LifeWatch AG
Tel +41 52 632 00 50 | Fax +41 52 632 00 51 | E-mail kobibe@lifewatch.com
Europe
Sensus Investor and Public Relations GmbH, Zürich:
Tel +41 43 366 55 11 | Fax +41 43 366 55 12 | E-mail lifewatch@sensus.ch
USA
Westwicke Partners
E-mail asher.dewhurst@westwicke.com
Branche: Healthcare Providers
ISIN: CH0012815459
WKN: 1281545
Index: SPI, SPIEX
Börsen: Frankfurt / Open Market / XETRA
SIX Swiss Exchange / Hauptsegment
Berlin / free trade