NEW YORK, June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nephros, Inc., a medical device company, announced today that it will be exhibiting its Dual Stage Ultrafilter products at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) conference in Denver, Colorado, June 15th-19th, 2008. Building on the success of the Nephros online hemodiafiltration technology, the Nephros Dual Stage Ultrafilter (DSU) delivers water free of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other biologically hazardous elements. The Company believes the DSU can be an important addition to the hospital’s arsenal in addressing water-borne hospital acquired infection (HAI) risks, and therefore help to reduce infection-related hospital costs and liability associated with prolonged hospital stays, additional care requirements, and patient mortality.
HAIs of all types are a significant problem in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are over 2 million HAIs annually in the U.S., resulting in an estimated $30.5 billion in additional healthcare costs and over 100,000 in-hospital deaths. The federal Medicare program recently announced that, beginning in October 2008, it will no longer pay extra costs associated with certain types of HAIs. A variety of pathogens survives and even thrives in hospital plumbing systems despite chemical and heat-based treatments designed to eradicate them. Waterborne microbes can shelter certain pathogens and transport them to locations throughout a hospital’s water system.
“Our Dual Stage Ultrafilter is designed with a fail-safe feature, offering biologically pure water with extremely high reliability. “We believe that, when addressing water-borne HAIs, hospitals will seek a product that both has the biological stopping power to protect patients, and is convenient and cost-effective. The Nephros DSU delivers by offering exceptional filtration performance, throughput and product longevity,” said Norman Barta, CEO of Nephros.
“In a healthcare facility, high-risk immuno-compromised patients require a higher standard of water than tap or bottled water. Our disposable, cold-sterilizing-grade filter (0.005 microns membrane) far exceeds the CDC recommendation of 0.2 microns (bacterial) filtration, producing biologically pure water for sinks and showers,” said Joleen Turner, Nephros’s Vice President of Marketing.
The Nephros DSU point-of-use filter was installed and tested at major northeast medical centers as a proactive measure to prevent the spread of Legionella and other potentially lethal pathogens. The DSU filter provided an effective barrier from waterborne microbial contamination and demonstrated exceptional product longevity.
About Nephros, Inc.
Nephros, Inc., headquartered in New York, is a medical device company developing and marketing products designed to improve the quality of life for the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patient, while addressing the critical financial and clinical needs of the care provider. ESRD is a disease state characterized by the irreversible loss of kidney function. Nephros products are sold and distributed throughout Europe and are currently being used in over fifty clinics in Europe.
Nephros also markets a line of water filtration products incorporating its patented dual stage cold sterilization filtration technology, the Dual Stage Ultrafilter (DSU), which produces biologically safe water. The DSU has the capability to filter out bacteria and, due to its exceptional filtration levels, filter out many viruses, parasites, and other biotoxins as well. The DSU is in a pilot-use program at a major U.S. medical center and has been selected for further development by the U.S. Marine Corps.
For more information on Nephros, please visit the Company’s website at www.nephros.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”). Such statements may be preceded by words such as “may,” “plans,” “expects,” “believes,” “hopes,” “potential” or similar words. For such statements, Nephros claims the protection of the PSLRA.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Nephros’s control. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include the risks that Nephros may not be able: (i) to obtain funding if and when needed or on favorable terms; (ii) to continue as a going concern; (iii) to liquidate its short-term investments when needed to fund its operations; (iv) to maintain compliance with the AMEX’s continued listing standards; (v) to demonstrate in pre-clinical or clinical trials the anticipated efficacy, safety or cost savings of products that appeared promising to Nephros in research or clinical trials; (vi) to obtain appropriate or necessary governmental approvals to achieve its business plan or effectively market its products; (vii) to have its technologies and products accepted in current or future target markets; or (viii) to secure or enforce adequate legal protection, including patent protection, for its products. More detailed information about Nephros and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in Nephros’ filings with the SEC, including Nephros’ Annual Report on Form 10-KSB filed with the SEC for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, and Nephros’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2008. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Nephros does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Eileen Sukumaran, +1-212-781-5113, eileen@nephros.com
Web site: http://www.nephros.com/
