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Boston Scientific & Aspect Medical Systems Form Strategic Alliance to Develop Brain Monitoring Technology
23 May 2005
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX - News) and Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASPM - News) today announced a strategic alliance in which Boston Scientific will provide Aspect $25 million to fund development of new brain monitoring technology designed to aid the diagnosis and treatment of depression, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurological conditions. The significance of this research alliance is reinforced by findings being presented at this week's meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) indicating that Aspect's technology may be able to help clinicians improve patient response to antidepressant therapy and provide early identification of cognitive decline associated with AD. For the estimated 18.8 million Americans suffering from depression and four million from AD, this research may signal new hope to more quickly match depression sufferers with effective pharmaceutical or device- based therapies, and to help identify AD patients in the earliest stages of disease.
"A technology that could help clinicians identify neurological disease states, as well as the first, best medication or device-based therapies for treating psychiatric illnesses, could profoundly impact clinical practice," said Andrew Leuchter, M.D., professor of Psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, and chair of Aspect's neuroscience advisory board. "The challenge is finding the best treatment to help each individual recover quickly. With depression alone, fewer than 50 percent of patients get well after their first course of antidepressant therapy, and many patients become discouraged and give up when repeated attempts at treatment prove ineffective or cause severe side effects. If Aspect's technology could help determine at an early time if an antidepressant therapy is likely to speed recovery, it could help make depression easier to manage, improve treatment adherence, and dramatically improve the quality of life for millions of patients. Furthermore, for those patients who do not respond to medication, Aspect's technology could potentially guide device-based neurostimulation therapy by helping clinicians determine if this approach would be effective prior to device implantation, and by helping clinicians determine the appropriate amount of stimulation to use."
APA Research Highlights -- May 21-26, Atlanta, GA
Four studies related to the use of Aspect's brain monitoring technology in detecting and managing the treatment of neurological and psychiatric conditions are being presented at the APA meeting. This research supports previous studies indicating that Aspect's brain monitoring technology was able to predict within a few days of initiating treatment the effectiveness of antidepressant medications in treating depressed patients. This finding is significant because it typically takes several weeks to determine if a depressed patient has responded to a specific treatment, and many patients suffer while they undergo multiple changes in therapy to identify an effective regimen. Other research being presented at the meeting further indicates that Aspect's technology correlates with clinical assessments of mild cognitive dysfunction, which may precede the onset of AD.
Strategic Alliance Details
"This alliance represents an exciting opportunity to accelerate the pace of Aspect's neuroscience research program with the goal of improving patient care and quality of life for millions of people," said Nassib Chamoun, President and CEO of Aspect Medical Systems. "The agreement will allow us to actively pursue product development for depression and AD with the goal of introducing new products that benefit patients and the healthcare system within the next three to five years. We hope to introduce new tools that can help medical professionals guide therapy management for patients throughout the course of treatment."
"Aspect has demonstrated a remarkable ability to analyze complex brain signals and use this information to develop valuable and practical clinical tools," said Larry Best, Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, and Chief Financial Officer of Boston Scientific. "The research being presented this week is compelling and further validates our confidence in Aspect's ability to apply its expertise to develop new tools for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric conditions like depression. We look forward to working together with the mutual goal of introducing innovative products that address this sizeable clinical need."
This strategic alliance is intended to fund research and development efforts. Aspect and Boston Scientific will share equally in the profits from products developed to treat and manage depression and other neurological disorders. Up to 20 percent of the funds provided by Boston Scientific may be used to support Aspect's AD research and development initiatives, and Aspect will retain all commercial rights for products developed in this area. Aspect may continue to collaborate with other third parties in the development of customized neurological assessment solutions.
Boston Scientific currently owns approximately 27.4 percent of Aspect equity. Aspect has amended its shareholder rights plan to provide that Boston Scientific may acquire beneficial ownership of, or commence a tender offer for, just under 29.5 percent (as opposed to the previous plan of 27.5 percent) of Aspect's stock without triggering the exercise of rights under the plan.
Today's Conference Call
Representatives from Aspect Medical Systems and Boston Scientific and Dr. Leuchter will host a conference call 12:00 p.m. ET for all interested parties, including financial analysts, portfolio managers, individual investors and members of the press. To participate in the, call dial 1-800-810-0924 (domestic), 1-913-981-4900 (international), or access the Webcast at http://www.aspectmedical.com on the Investor page, or at http://ccbn.com. A replay of the call will be available from May 23, 3:00pm EDT through May 30, 12:00am EDT. To hear the replay, please dial 1-888-203-1112 (domestic), 1-719-457-0820 (international) and enter passcode: 161 4513
About Aspect Medical Systems, Inc.
Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASPM - News) is a global market leader in brain monitoring technology. Aspect's BIS technology directly measures the effects of anesthetics and sedatives on the brain. To date, BIS technology has been used to assess more than 11.3 million patients and has been the subject of approximately 1,800 published articles and abstracts. BIS technology is installed in approximately 38 percent of all domestic operating rooms and is available in more than 160 countries. Aspect has OEM agreements with seven leading manufacturers of patient monitoring systems. The Company is also investigating how other methods of analyzing brain waves may aid in the diagnosis and management of neurological diseases, including depression and Alzheimer's disease. For more information, visit Aspect's web site at http://www.aspectmedical.com.
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking and may involve risks and uncertainties, including statements with respect to the Company's ability to successfully develop tools for the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disease within the time periods identified or at all. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. For example, the Company may not be able to successfully develop products in this area, achieve widespread market acceptance of its BIS monitoring technology or to compete with new products or alternative techniques that may be developed by others, including third-party anesthesia monitoring products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Company also faces competitive and regulatory risks relating to its ability to successfully develop and introduce enhancements and new products, such as products for the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. There are additional factors that could cause the Company's actual results to vary from its forward-looking statements, including without limitation those set forth under the heading "Factors Affecting Future Operating Results" in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter ended April 2, 2005, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the Company's views only as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any subsequent date. While the Company may elect to update forward-looking statements in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, even if its expectations change. Therefore, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
About Boston Scientific Corporation
Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. For more information, please visit: http://www.bostonscientific.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Boston Scientific wishes to caution the reader of this press release that actual results may differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and may be adversely affected by, among other things, risks associated with new product development, clinical trials, the regulatory approval process, reimbursement policies, commercialization of new technologies, intellectual property, and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Aspect, Bispectral Index and BIS are registered trademarks of Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks and company names are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT:
Emily Anderson
617-559-7032
Media Relations
Aspect Medical Systems
Mike Falvey
617-559-7363
Investor Relations
Aspect Medical Systems
Milan Kofol
508-650-8569 (Office)
617-834-8595 (Mobile)
Investor Relations
Boston Scientific Corporation
Paul Donovan
508-650-8541 (Office)
508-667-5165 (Mobile)
Media Relations
Boston Scientific Corporation
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Source: Boston Scientific Corporation
Source: PR Newswire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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