Echosens: Canada Approves FibroScan(R) and its 3 Probes

PARIS, FRANCE--(Marketwire - September 09, 2009) - Editors Note: A photo for this release is available via Marketwire’s website.

Echosens, the French high-technology company specializing in non-invasive diagnostics in hepatology, announced that it has obtained approval for FibroScan® and its 3 probes (Pediatric, Standard and for Obese patients) in Canada.

This innovative diagnostic technique, specific to the liver, measures in a quantitative and reproducible way the “degree of hepatic fibrosis”, from children to adults, of all shapes and sizes. This non-invasive diagnostic method is a real revolution for liver diseases and their monitoring, a revolution that Canadian patients will be able to benefit from.

FibroScan®, a sure and non-invasive diagnostic technique

This authorization to participate in the Canadian market comes after the world launch of the new XL probe. Echosens will now be able to market FibroScan® and its 3 probes, a product commercially available since 2005 worldwide and selected by the community of hepatologists thanks to more than 200 independent publications. According to Richard Guillaume, CEO of Echosens, “With its non-invasive nature, its ease of use and its immediate results, FibroScan® has already revolutionized the medical practice of hepatologists in Europe and Asia, and is expected to experience the same success in Canada.”

A major benefit for Canadian patients

In Canada, viral hepatitis C and alcoholic diseases are the principal causes of cirrhosis. With 240,000 chronically infected people and 5,000 new cases of hepatitis C per year, taking control of this disease constitutes a major public health issue for the country.

In addition, the testimony of specialist physicians on the appearance of emerging pathologies such as Non Alcoholic Steatosic Hepatitis (NASH), which is growing rapidly in this country, reinforce the use of FibroScan®.

Without diagnosis or adapted control, hepatic fibrosis develops in 30% of these patients and can lead to cirrhosis.

Approval for an international development strategy

Canadian approval is an important step in Echosens’ development strategy, but other approvals will follow. “Our product was approved in China in 2008, today in Canada, we hope in Japan at the end of 2009, and in the United States in 2010. We will focus on metabolic diseases like steatosis, but also on the study of other organs thanks to VCTE™ “Vibration Controlled Transcient Elastography”.

Echosens: Partner for diagnostic solutions in Hepatology

A French company founded in 2001 in Paris, Echosens is an international SME specializing in the field of hepatology. The company developed and manufactures the FibroScan® device, based on VCTE™ “Vibration Controlled Transcient Elastography”. Echosens has changed hepatologists’ clinical practices by making available to them a new tool for diagnosis and follow-up of liver diseases. Echosens dedicates a significant part of its activity to Research in order to develop new medical devices and to open up new medical perspectives. The company works in close cooperation with health professionals and patients’ associations to facilitate therapeutic follow up of patients. To date, 645 FibroScan® devices have been installed worldwide, including 157 in France.

For more information: www.echosens.com

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