Cygnus announces latest developments and marketing plans for the Glucowatch Biographer ®

Today on a conference call, Cygnus announced it's current plans for the Glucowatch Biographer®. Cygnus is a recipient of a grant from CWDF for a Pediatric Glucowatch trial.

Here are the highlights of the conference call:

About the Glucowatch in the US:

1) Preparations for U.S. launch:

a) distribution "customer support functions are ALL in place."
b) 12-question test required to be answered by patient who also needs a prescription before the Glucowatch kit will be shipped DIRECTLY to the patient.
c) Hodgman said Cygnus has "trained ALL customer support people." They are "ready."
d) Educational material for physicians and end users [patients] as well as promotional ads are ready to go.
e) Focus is on the 4,000 endocrinologists who "write insulin prescriptions."

2) Reimbursement question following presentation:

Hodgmen replied that reimbursement "requires outcome studies." He added he is encouraged by initial results, including some indications that HBA1C levels were
"reduced."

3) Managing expectations:

A focus was made by Hodgmen of the need to "manage expectations." Even though there is "enormous pent-up demand" for a device such as the Glucowatch, Hodgmen stressed that that desire can lead to some high, even inappropriate expectations for such a breakthrough technology as the GW. Although a beginning version, nevertheless, Hodgmen said "this is a major step forward." It is NOT a piece of jewelry. [By implication, you don't just strap it on and expect it to perform perfectly.] Expect that 75% of the 36 readings will be provided and the possibility of some "temporary" minor skin irritation: a few dots which might require that the GW be moved to a different site when next put to use.

In the UK:

1) Cygnus "anticipates" marketing to pediatric patients in the U.K. in the first quarter of 2002.

2) Cygnus "probably will expect to expand into other [European] countries" BEFORE it would expect reimbursement from the [British] National Health Service.

3) Cygnus provided training to more than 300 physicians/clinics in the UK--again, outside the National Health Service.

4) People adjusting how they use the Glucowatch in the U.K., ie. increasing the alarm levels on the Glucowatch for hypoglycemia when wearer is "driving long distances".

5) Anecdote: Cygnus received letter last week from a 27-year-old woman who has had diabetes since childhood. She wrote that she had not ventured out of her house without a family member in the past seven years. Once she became pregnant there was a worry as to how she could cope with the situation. She then daily began to use the GW and specifically wrote that it "gave her a new life." Her baby was born last week and was named 'Victoria'.

Patents:

1) 73 US patents
2) 43 International
3) 100 pending
4) 160 world-wide
5) Hodgmen referred to patents on the Glucowatch and autosensors, but concluded by saying that the 'data management' patents were "possibly the most important of the patents."