Healthcare Industry News: ClearPath
News Release - October 5, 2007
North American Scientific Enters Brachytherapy Fiducials Market
New Distribution Agreement Creates Additional $50 Million Market OpportunityCHATSWORTH, Calif.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--North American Scientific, Inc. (Nasdaq:NASI ) today announced that it has entered into a new three-year distribution agreement with Carbon Medical Technologies, Inc. to sell gold and carbon markers used by radiation oncologists during prostate cancer procedures.
"This new agreement with Carbon Medical marks another positive milestone in our strategy to profitably expand our core brachytherapy business," said John B. Rush, President and Chief Executive Officer of North American Scientific. "We estimate that the sales opportunity for localization markers utilized by the radiation oncology community represents a $50 million market. Since the end-users of these products are customers that we know well and currently sell other products to, we believe we will be able to immediately access this market and achieve incremental sales per call-point.
"This agreement is consistent with our long-term growth strategy which includes a commitment to continued investment in expanding our product portfolio in areas where we can gain maximum leverage from our distribution organization," said Mr. Rush. "This is a high gross margin opportunity that broadens our product portfolio and should have a positive impact on sales productivity. Carbon Medical has a strong reputation for quality implant products within the medical device industry and we look forward to working with them."
Under the terms of the agreement, North American Scientific will market the Carbon Medical Technology's gold and carbon markers (fiducials) under the PreciseMarC(TM) brand. The products have received Food & Drug Administration clearance.
About Carbon Medical Technologies, Inc.
Carbon Medical Technologies, Inc., a privately held, St. Paul, MN company develops and manufactures proprietary carbon-coated medical implant devices. The biocompatibility of carbon makes it ideal for implant applications including for use as a tissue marker for biopsy sites and mapping sites for radiation therapy. In addition to tissue markers, Carbon Medical Technologies manufactures carbon implants for a number of applications including for the treatment of urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence and gastric reflux disease. Carbon Medical Technologies, Inc. operates a fully functional IOS 13485 certified, FDA-GMP approved manufacturing facility.
About North American Scientific
North American Scientific is a leader in radiation therapy in the fight against cancer. Its innovative products provide physicians with tools for the treatment of various types of cancers. They include Prospera® brachytherapy seeds and SurTRAK(TM) needles and strands used primarily in the treatment of prostate cancer. In addition the Company plans to commercialize its ClearPath(TM) multi-channel catheter breast brachytherapy devices in 2007, which are the only devices approved for both high dose and continuous release, or low dose, radiation treatments. The devices are designed to provide flexible, precise dose conformance and an innovative delivery system that is intended to offer the more advanced form of brachytherapy for the treatment of breast cancer. Please visit www.nasmedical.com for more information.
Statements included in this release that are not historical facts may be considered forward-looking statements that are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products and pricing, technological changes, changes in relationships with strategic partners and dependence upon strategic partners for the performance of critical activities under collaborative agreements, the ability of the Company to successfully directly market and sell its products, uncertainties relating to patent protection and regulatory approval, the stable supply of appropriate isotopes, research and development estimates, market opportunities, risks associated with strategic opportunities or acquisitions the Company may pursue and the risk factors included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future results or otherwise.
Source: North American Scientific
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