Akers Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:AKER) (LSE:AKR) (the "Company" or
"ABI"), a leading designer and manufacturer of rapid diagnostic
screening and testing products, announces a distribution agreement
(the "Agreement") for the Company's PIFA Heparin/PF4 and PIFA PLUSS
PF4 rapid tests with Medline Industries Inc. ("Medline"), the
largest privately held distributor of healthcare supplies in the
United States.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Medline, which has a network
of 40 distribution centers in the United States and 1,200 dedicated
sales representatives worldwide, is expected to begin marketing the
Company's tests to a large network of hospitals and surgery centers
across the United States immediately. In respect of sales to
hospitals, historically the Company has focused on targeting
hospital laboratories, however, Medline's sales representatives
have relationships with multiple departments within a hospital
customer, including the hospital pharmacy. The Company believes
that marketing within multiple hospital departments including but
not limited to hospital pharmacies will help to increase market
penetration of its PIFA Heparin/PF4 and PIFA PLUSS PF4 rapid
tests.
PIFA Heparin/PF4 and PIFA PLUSS PF4 are the only FDA-cleared,
single-use tests which quickly determine if a patient, being
treated with the blood thinner Heparin, may be developing a drug
allergy. The resulting clinical syndrome, referred to as
Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia ("HIT"), reverses the Heparin's
intended effect of thinning the blood and transforms it into a
clotting agent which can result in death or limb amputation.
In the United States, approximately 12 million patients are
exposed to Heparin annually; and 1%-5% of those are diagnosed with
HIT. The largest at-risk patients are those undergoing major
cardiac or orthopedic surgery. It is estimated that up to half of
cardiac surgery patients develop HIT-antibodies.
Unlike traditional testing methods, which require expensive
equipment, specialized laboratory personnel and a turnaround time
of approximately 4-72 hours, ABI's PIFA Heparin/PF4 Rapid Assay
delivers a result in less than 10 minutes after the blood sample
has been prepared.
Additionally, the Company's PIFA PLUSS PF4 extension of the test
further improves the rate at which hospitals can obtain a
HIT-antibody result as it now incorporates the Company's patented
Rapid Blood Cell Separation Technology. This technology eliminates
the need for blood sample preparation, meaning the test can be
carried out in minutes at the point-of-care.
"HIT-antibody testing has too often been too slow to be factored
into time-sensitive diagnostic and treatment decisions," said
Raymond F. Akers Jr., Ph.D, Executive Chairman. "We believe that
our rapid assays, which can be completed at the point-of-care, have
the capacity to drastically improve the rate at which
HIT-antibodies are identified, improve patient outcomes and save
large sums of money for hospitals prescribing expensive
alternatives to Heparin unnecessarily while awaiting results from
slow lab-based tests. Our goal is to become the hospital's test of
choice for the millions of patients exposed to Heparin annually,"
added Dr. Akers.
"Following the signing of the Agreement, our tests for
HIT-antibodies are now being marketed by the three largest
distributors of healthcare supplies in the United States. This
Agreement, in conjunction with Typenex's highly targeted approach,
gives the Company the broadest marketing coverage across the United
States for these products since launch. We are delighted to be
partnering with Medline which enjoys strong relationships with its
customers and benefits from a vast distribution network," said Dr.
Akers.
ABOUT MEDLINE
Medline is the largest privately held manufacturer and
distributor of healthcare supplies in the US, providing more than
350,000 products that serve the entire continuum of care. Their
innovative products and programs can be found in most hospitals,
extended-care facilities, surgery centers, physician offices, home
care dealers, home health agencies and retail outlets. Medline
recorded sales of $5.8 billion in 2013. It is ranked No. 69 on the
Forbes 2012 list of largest privately held companies in America and
employs more than 12,000 people worldwide with operations in more
than 25 countries.
ABOUT AKERS BIOSCIENCES, INC.
Akers Biosciences develops, manufactures, and supplies rapid,
point of care screening and testing products designed to bring
healthcare information both rapidly and directly to the consumer or
healthcare provider. The Company has advanced the science of
diagnostics while responding to major shifts in healthcare through
the development of several proprietary platform technologies. The
Company's state-of-the-art rapid diagnostic assays can be performed
virtually anywhere in minutes when time is of the essence. The
Company has aligned with major healthcare companies and high volume
medical products distributors to maximize product offerings, and to
be a major worldwide competitor in diagnostics. Additional
information on the Company and its products can be found at
www.akersbiosciences.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking
Statements
Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or
historical fact are forward-looking in nature and constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's
expectations about its future operating results, performance and
opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties.
These statements include but are not limited to statements
regarding the intended terms of the offering, closing of the
offering and use of any proceeds from the offering. When used
herein, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "upcoming,"
"plan," "target", "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions, as
they relate to Akers Biosciences, Inc., its subsidiaries, or its
management, are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are based on
information currently available to the Company and are subject to a
number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause
the Company's actual results, performance, prospects, and
opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or
implied by, these forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: For more information:
Raymond F. Akers, Jr. PhD
Executive Chairman of the Board
Akers Biosciences, Inc.
Tel. +1 856 848 8698
Twitter. @AkersBio
Brendan Hopkins
RedChip Companies, Inc. (US Investor Relations)
Tel. +1 407 644 4256 x134
Emma Earl / Harrison Clarke
Daniel Stewart (Nomad and Broker)
Tel. +44 (0)20 7776 6550
Ben Simons / Alexandra Roper
Vigo Communications (UK Investor Relations)
Tel. +44 (0)20 7016 9570
akers@vigocomms.com
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