NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- InterCure, Ltd. (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: INCR) manufacturer of the RESPeRATE(R) hypertension treatment device, clinically-proven to significantly lower blood pressure, today announced it sold its 100,000th RESPeRATE device during the 2007 holiday season. This milestone marks a period of widespread consumer adoption and physician support for the novel technology and provides strong momentum for the RESPeRATE launch into retail pharmacies planned for later this year.
It took approximately four years to generate the first 50,000 unit sales of RESPeRATE, as clinical evidence, physician advocacy and consumer awareness began to take hold following the OTC clearance of the device. The second 50,000 units were sold in just 15 months. Growth is being driven through increased traction in the U.S. direct-to-consumer and online retail channels.
RESPeRATE has driven record volume through the world’s leading e-commerce provider, Amazon.com, providing insight into the brand’s sales potential within the retail environment. “RESPeRATE was among the top 100 items in our health and personal care store this holiday season,” said Brett Barrilleaux, senior buyer at Amazon.com. “The brand’s growth this year underscores our shoppers’ desire for non-drug solutions in hypertension management.”
“InterCure is experiencing robust growth in our core direct-to-consumer and online retail businesses. This reflects the growing consumer adoption rate for the RESPeRATE device and will serve us well as we expand our distribution into chain drugstores,” said Erez Gavish, president and CEO of InterCure, manufacturer of the RESPeRATE device. “This year, we have been able to lay a solid foundation for our next phase of growth. Our traditional DTC business is healthier than it has ever been, and we have now assembled a world class consumer healthcare team to successfully launch into the retail market. This combination of momentum and expertise gives us great confidence as we head into a time of rapid acceleration in 2008.”
About RESPeRATE
RESPeRATE(R) is FDA-cleared for over-the-counter sale and is the only medical device on the market clinically proven to lower blood pressure through paced breathing therapy. The device uses the body’s natural tendency to follow external rhythms, interactively guiding the user to effortlessly reduce their breathing rate to a “therapeutic zone” of less than 10 breaths per minute. The breathing exercises with RESPeRATE relax the constricted muscles surrounding the small blood vessels, allowing the blood to flow more freely and yielding a significant and lasting reduction of blood pressure within weeks.
About InterCure, Ltd.
InterCure, a medical device company, publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: INCR) has become a leader in the growing Personal Therapeutic Device category. Its broadly patented “device-guided breathing” technology platform enables a systematic reduction in sympathetic outflow of the autonomic nervous system. InterCure is successfully selling the world’s first hypertension treatment device, RESPeRATE(R), with more than 100,000 units sold. With multiple published clinical studies, regulatory clearance in most key international markets (including FDA over-the-counter (“OTC”) clearance in the U.S., the European CE mark and the Chinese SDA among others) and a renowned scientific advisory board, RESPeRATE is rapidly becoming a part of the standard of care for the treatment of hypertension. (www.intercure.com)
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on the Company’s current beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to its management. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. As a result of these risks, uncertainties and other factors, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included in this press release. These forward- looking statements represent beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, even if new information becomes available in the future.
intercure@schwartz-pr.com bpackard@intercure.com
CONTACT: Lisa Mokaba of Schwartz Communications for InterCure, Ltd.,
+1-781-684-0770, intercure@schwartz-pr.com; or Brian Packard of InterCure,
Inc., +1-646-652-5800, ext. 7134, bpackard@intercure.com
Web site: http://www.intercure.com/
