Facilitates Improved Patient Care and Access;
Positions KCI as a Leader in the Region
SAN ANTONIO -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI) today announced that its Germany entity, KCI Medizinprodukte GmbH, has won the maximum of three out of four regional contracts granted by Germany's largest state health insurer - that in total cover the southeast, southwest and west regions of Germany. According to German regulations, three out of four contracts was the largest award possible. KCI has been granted exclusivity in these regions as a provider of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in the form of the industry-leading V.A.C.® Therapy for the clinical evaluation of NPWT in diabetic foot ulcers and post-surgical wound dehiscences until 2014.
The contracts were awarded by the Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse (AOK), Germany's largest state health insurer, and the Verband der Ersatzkassen (VdEK), a health insurance advocacy organization.
"In today's healthcare environment, patients and providers want - and deserve - effective ways to control costs while delivering the best therapies available," said Mike Genau, global president, KCI's Active Healing SolutionsTM business unit. "We're pleased that our strong body of evidence has prompted the insurance authorities in Germany to allow KCI to bring the healing power of V.A.C.® Therapy, with its proven clinical and economic outcomes, to more patients and providers."
The arrangement, which goes into effect in July 2011, is expected to generate further clinical evidence and economic data, as well as increase KCI's opportunities in the home healthcare and acute care arenas. During a two- to three-year evaluation period, the German government will perform two clinical evaluations to further validate NPWT clinical effectiveness and cost efficiency to support government directed reimbursement across Germany.
For more information about KCI please visit www.kci1.com.
About KCI
Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE:KCI) is a leading global medical technology company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of innovative, high-technology therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, KCI's success spans more than three decades and can be traced to a history deeply rooted in innovation and a passion for significantly improving the healing and the lives of patients around the world. The company employs approximately 7,100 people and markets its products in more than 20 countries. For more information about KCI and how its products are changing the practice of medicine, visit www.KCI1.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding management's current expectations with respect to the contracts. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, projects, intends, should, seeks, future, continue, or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. Additional risks and factors are identified in KCI's filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2010, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, which are available on the SEC's Web site at http://www.sec.gov. KCI undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT:
Kinetic Concepts, Inc.
Media:
Maggie McMahon, 210-515-7088
Mobile: 210-838-3329
maggie.mcmahon@kci1.com
or
Investors:
Todd Wyatt, 210-255-6157
Mobile: 210-347-3540
todd.wyatt@kci1.com