Accumetrics Signs National Distribution Agreement with Cardinal Health

SAN DIEGO, May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Accumetrics, Inc., marketer of the VerifyNow System, the first rapid and easy-to-use point-of-care diagnostic system for measuring platelet reactivity to multiple antiplatelet agents, announced today that the company has signed a national distribution agreement with Cardinal Health, Inc. to distribute the VerifyNow System to hospitals, health systems and independent laboratories throughout the United States.

The VerifyNow System is widely used by physicians to assess patients' platelet response to various antiplatelet therapies such as aspirin, Plavix® and Effient®.  Up to one in three individuals may not be responding adequately to their antiplatelet therapy.  Patients with poor response to their anti-platelet therapy may be at significantly greater risk of adverse events.

"We anticipate a more rapid adoption of the VerifyNow System as a result of this agreement with Cardinal Health," said Timothy I. Still, President and CEO of Accumetrics.  "Cardinal's record of outpacing market growth is well-documented."

New recommendations about platelet reactivity testing were recently incorporated into the updated 2011 ACCF/AHA Guidelines for the Management of UA/NSTEMI Patients(1), as well as the 2011 Update to the Surgical Guidelines for pre-operative patient assessment(2).

"At Cardinal Health we work continuously to bring new products and solutions to our customers that help them provide quality diagnostic services to their customers," said Lisa Ashby, president of Cardinal Health Medical Segment. "The ability to better determine the effect of therapies for patients is very important to our customers, and we are pleased to include the VerifyNow products as part of our laboratory cardiac offering."

About Accumetrics

Accumetrics is committed to advancing medical understanding of platelet function and enhancing quality of care for patients receiving antiplatelet therapies by providing industry-leading and widely accessible diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment.

Accumetrics' VerifyNow System is the first rapid and easy-to-use platform to help physicians determine an individual's response to multiple antiplatelet agents. Addressing every major antiplatelet drug, including FDA-cleared products for aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitors (e.g. prasugrel (Effient) and clopidogrel (Plavix)), and GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors (e.g. ReoPro® and Integrilin®), the VerifyNow System provides a valuable tool to help physicians make informed treatment decisions. For more information about the Company and its products, visit www.accumetrics.com.

The Accumetrics logo and VerifyNow are registered trademarks of Accumetrics, Inc. ReoPro is a registered trademark of Centocor, Inc. Integrilin is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Plavix is a registered trademark of sanofi-aventis. Effient is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company.

(1) Wright, RS. et al. 2011 ACCF/AHA Focused Update of the Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina/Non ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. Published online Mar 28, 2011; doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2011.02.009.

(2) Ferraris VA, et al. 2011 Update to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists Blood Conservation Clinical Practice Guidelines. Ann Thorac Surg. 2011 Mar;91(3):944-82.

CONTACT:

Jakob Jakobsen
310-309-1003
[email protected]

Timothy I. Still
President and CEO
Accumetrics
858-404-8260
[email protected]

SOURCE Accumetrics, Inc.