Study Shows NxStage Medical, Inc. Daily Home Hemodialysis Patients More Likely to Receive Kidney Transplant

LAWRENCE, Mass., May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NxStage® Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq:NXTM), a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today commented on findings of the Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG) study showing that patients receiving daily, or more frequent, home hemodialysis with the NxStage System One are more likely to receive a kidney transplant when compared with conventional thrice-weekly dialysis, particularly in patients not on the transplant waitlist at initiation of daily home hemodialysis. The study, "Transplant Rates in Frequent Hemodialysis and Matched Thrice-Weekly Hemodialysis Patients," was presented on Thursday, May 10th at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meeting in Washington, D.C.

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The CDRG retrospective cohort study compared cumulative incidence of transplant in 1,873 daily home hemodialysis patients using the NxStage System One from 2005 to 2007 and a matched cohort of 9,365 thrice-weekly, in-center hemodialysis patients from the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) database. The study was designed using a unique, rigorous matching process with 17 covariates that could impact transplantation incidence, including demographics, comorbidity and socioeconomic status. Specifically, findings showed:

• Relative transplant incidence with daily home hemodialysis was 1.14 (P = 0.03) as compared with thrice-weekly in-center hemodialysis, but relative incidence varied by waitlist status at the start of follow-up; and
• In patients on the transplant waitlist at the start of follow-up, relative transplant incidence was 0.93 (P = 0.27) as compared with thrice-weekly in-center hemodialysis; in patients not listed, relative incidence was 1.91 (P < 0.01);

"Kidney transplantation is widely regarded as the 'gold standard' treatment for End Stage Renal Disease and is associated with the highest quality of life and survival outcomes for patients," said Dr. Allan Collins, professor of medicine, University of Minnesota, and Director, Chronic Disease Research Group. "Daily home hemodialysis patients may be better prepared for a transplant based on earlier studies of frequent dialysis showing less hypertension, better phosphorus control, and reduced left ventricular hypertrophy."

"The CDRG study adds new and important findings to the large body of clinical data showing the significant benefits of more frequent home hemodialysis," said Jeffrey H. Burbank, Chief Executive Officer of NxStage. "This provides additional testament to the value our technology and therapy delivers to patients and the health care system. Not only are transplants wonderful from an outcomes perspective, but also, they are the lowest long term cost of care option for Medicare."

CDRG is a nonprofit division of the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation committed to investigating chronic illness to improve public health, including leveraging USRDS data to conduct studies. This study was funded by NxStage Medical.

About the NxStage System One
The NxStage System One is the first and only truly portable hemodialysis system cleared for home use by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Its simplicity and revolutionary size (just over a foot tall) are intended to allow convenient use in patients' homes and give patients the freedom to travel with their therapy. When combined with the NxStage Pureflow SL Dialysis Preparation System, patients are able to further simplify, using ordinary tap water to create dialysis fluid on demand. Unlike conventional hemodialysis systems, the System One requires no special infrastructure to operate. Under the guidance of their physician, patients can use the NxStage System One, with their trained partners, where, how and when it best meets their needs, at home or on vacation. http://www.nxstage.com/.

About NxStage Medical
NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq:NXTM) is a medical device company, headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA, that develops, manufactures and markets innovative systems for the treatment of end-stage renal disease, or ESRD, and acute kidney failure. For more information on NxStage and its products, please visit the company's website at http://www.nxstage.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking, and the words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan," and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including those that are discussed in NxStage's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012. NxStage is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Kristen K. Sheppard, Esq.
VP, Investor Relations
ksheppard@nxstage.com

SOURCE NxStage Medical, Inc.