PLAINSBORO, N.J., Oct. 1, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:IART) today announced that it paid $1.4 million to Novus Monitoring Limited for the achievement of a product development milestone.
In September of 2002, Integra LifeSciences acquired the NeuroSensor(R) monitor and rights to certain intellectual property from Novus Monitoring Limited of the United Kingdom. At closing, Integra and Novus entered into a related development agreement pursuant to which Novus agreed to perform a variety of development and other activities related to the NeuroSensor and develop an additional product for use in the neuromonitoring field. In addition to achieving the product development milestone, Novus Monitoring Limited completed its obligations related to the NeuroSensor monitor under the development agreement.
The NeuroSensor monitoring system measures both intracranial pressure and cerebral blood flow using a single combined probe and an electronic monitor for data display. Cerebral blood flow is considered to be an important parameter for monitoring cerebral auto-regulation and, when combined with the measurement of intracranial pressure, is expected to facilitate improved patient care and clinical management with applications in neuro-trauma, cerebrovascular disease, and post-operative neurosurgical treatment. Integra NeuroSciences will feature the NeuroSensor product at the annual meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in San Francisco in October.
"Integra has a long and successful history in the field of neuromonitoring with our Camino(R), Ventrix(R) and LICOX(R) product lines," said Stuart M. Essig, Integra's Chief Executive Officer. "The Novus acquisition provided Integra with a valuable platform to develop and launch innovative, new products for measuring clinically important brain parameters, such as intracranial pressure and cerebral blood flow. It is our goal to continue to advance the treatment of brain injuries and we look forward to the launch of the NeuroSensor product."
Integra will record a $1.4 million research and development charge in the third quarter in connection with the product development milestone payment.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation is a diversified medical technology company that develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in a variety of applications. The primary applications for our products are neuro-trauma and neurosurgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery and general surgery. Integra is a leader in applying the principles of biotechnology to medical devices that improve patients' quality of life. Our corporate headquarters are in Plainsboro, New Jersey, and we have manufacturing and research facilities located throughout the world. We have approximately 1,200 employees. Please visit our website at (http://www.Integra-LS.com).
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the launch of the NeuroSensor, and the development of additional medical devices using the acquired technology. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from predicted or expected results. Among other things, the willingness of physicians to adopt cerebral blood flow as a clinically relevant brain parameter for treatment may affect the launch of the NeuroSensor and the review by external auditors and regulatory agencies of our assumptions used to estimate the research and development charge may affect the charge to be recorded. In addition, the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors identified under the heading "Factors Than May Affect Our Future Performance" included in the Business section of Integra's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and information contained in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could affect actual results.