PLANTATION, Fla., Oct. 19, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- MEDirect Latino Inc. (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org), the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community, announced today that it has received the first container of branded, UL approved heating pads manufactured exclusively for the Company in China. The branded heating pads are the first such products manufactured in China exclusively for the Company, and complement existing branded bi-lingual packaged products, which are manufactured exclusively for MEDirect Latino, domestically. The Company projects additional annual revenues of $1,176,000 from sales of branded MEDirect Latino heating pads with estimated gross product profit margin of 88% and reduced costs of goods for the heating pads of 57%. Following rigorous testing, the MEDirect Latino branded heating pads met all necessary standards for UL approval, further ensuring that important quality control measures are in place to protect our customers and guarantee the highest quality product.
The Company initiated manufacturing of MEDirect Latino heating pads following its recent visit to China through its participation with Business Mission China 2006, sponsored by the Florida Governor's office, Enterprise Florida, and Broward Alliance, and to coincide with its additional licensures as a Home Medical Equipment (HME) supplier of products and services. The new HME designation greatly expands the number of available products the Company can sell to new and existing customers under the Company "Quality of Life" program.
MEDirect Latino will build on its initial line of culturally friendly, demographically targeted, co-branded products with the introduction of additional consumable diabetes testing supplies manufactured exclusively in China, during the Company's planned, new product roll-out over the next 6 months.
MEDirect Latino Inc. President and CEO Ms. Debra Towsley stated, "One of our major management goals for 2006 was to control our own destiny by introducing our own branded products, manufactured by the Company, which not only gives us larger profit margins, but assures that we are building a brand in the Hispanic marketplace that denotes reliability and quality. Our research in the Medicare reimbursable market exposed a missing healthcare link that major pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors seem to have failed to recognize; culturally specific Hispanic packaged products, targeted to the Medicare eligible diabetic consumer. MEDirect Latino now fills that void in the marketplace." Further stated Ms. Towsley, "As our Board of Directors is now considering strategic options to maximize shareholders value, the move to branded products creates additional inherent value in the Company, as we transition beyond solely the distribution of Medicare products, and add the manufacturing of branded products specifically designed for the Hispanic marketplace."
ABOUT MEDIRECT LATINO:
MEDirect Latino (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org) is the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community. MEDirect Latino is rapidly growing and uniquely positioned to service the Hispanic community in the United States and Puerto Rico. MEDirect is the only company currently positioned to serve the U.S. Hispanic healthcare market as a direct-to-consumer Medicare provider on an authentically national level. Type II diabetes was targeted because of its unique status within the Medicare reimbursement regime and due to its high degree of correlation to other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease. These and other conditions represent considerable future market potential, MEDirect will scale its model by leveraging its existing client base and infrastructure in introducing new products and services to existing customers as they are identified.
The MEDirect Latino Inc. logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1873
Safe Harbor Disclosure:
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, commonly identified by such terms as "believes," "looking ahead," "anticipates," "estimates" and other terms with similar meaning. Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's projections and expectations are disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions.