NxStage Recognizes World Kidney Day And National Kidney Month

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 06 Mar 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM), announced today it is marking the month of March in recognition of World Kidney Day and National Kidney Month with a series of activities intended to heighten awareness of kidney disease and educate the public about its prevention and treatment.

NxStage will recognize World Kidney Day, on Thursday, March 8th, and all of National Kidney Month with the following initiatives:

-- Patient Education Days -- NxStage will host patient education days at 16 dialysis centers across the country on or around March 8th to mark World Kidney Day. Existing in-center dialysis patients and the local community are invited to learn more about daily home hemodialysis and the NxStage System. Clinicians from the center, current NxStage patients and representatives from NxStage will be available to talk with kidney patients and their families about treatment options, including daily home hemodialysis.

-- Home at Last Patient newsletter -- NxStage will introduce a newsletter for users and potential users of the NxStage System One(TM) home hemodialysis system. The Home at Last newsletter will highlight new developments in treating kidney disease, patient profiles, wellness tips and more. The inaugural issue will also recognize "Home Hemo Heroes," several patients who participated in the initial clinical trial of the system and who will mark their third anniversary using the NxStage System One this March.

-- Free kidney disease information and screenings -- NxStage is partnering with the local National Kidney Foundation to heighten the awareness of kidney disease. Throughout the month, NxStage will provide informational flyers, educational brochures and resources on chronic kidney disease and its prevention and treatment throughout its corporate office building, which also houses many other businesses and organizations. As a follow-up to this initiative, NxStage will host a KEEP (Kidney Early Evaluation Program) screening that will also be available to the local community.

"We are pleased to participate in the missions of World Kidney Day and National Kidney Month," said Jeff Burbank, President and Chief Executive Officer, NxStage Medical. "Since the prevalence of chronic kidney disease is growing at a rapid rate, it's very important that we educate people about the available methods to prevent this condition, and that there are new treatment options available. As the developer of the first truly portable daily home dialysis system, NxStage is committed to helping chronic patients manage their condition with therapy that is not only convenient, but that can also help many live more healthy, energetic and productive lives."

The NxStage System One is the first truly portable hemodialysis system cleared by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Unlike traditional dialysis equipment, the System One plugs into standard electrical outlets, requires no special infrastructure to operate and is easy to use by patients accompanied by their trained partners. Rather than commuting to and from a dialysis clinic three times per week for treatment sessions that last three to four hours, patients who use the NxStage System One have the personal freedom to conduct treatments at home or bring the machine with them on vacation.

Most patients using the System One perform dialysis treatments on a more frequent basis. A growing body of peer-reviewed literature documents that more frequent therapy results in clinical benefits such as increased energy levels and being able to come off certain medications. NxStage Medical recently received FDA clearance in April 2006 for its PureFlow SL, a compact, easy-to- use system that prepares high-purity dialysate from regular tap water, helping to make daily home hemodialysis even more practical and accessible to patients.

About NxStage Medical

NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM) is a medical device company, headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA, that develops, manufactures and markets innovative dialysis 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.

About End-Stage Renal Disease

End-stage renal disease is the permanent failure of the kidneys to filter the body's wastes. It is most commonly caused by diabetes, hypertension, or genetic disorders. In order to survive, ESRD patients must use some form of therapy to replace the function of the kidneys for the rest of their lives. Currently, over 450,000 patients in the United States suffer from ESRD, and the costs of treating ESRD patients are over $20 billion annually in the U.S. Due to increases in diabetes, hypertension, and the aging of the U.S. population, those figures are projected to double within the next 10-15 years. The most common form of kidney replacement therapy in the United States today is hemodialysis, which is used by over 350,000 patients. The great majority of these patients are treated with conventional, in-center hemodialysis, in which they must travel to a nearby dialysis center three times per week, where they are connected to dialysis machines for treatments lasting approximately three to four hours, to cleanse their blood.

About Hemodialysis

Today, most patients undergo hemodialysis therapy three times a week in outpatient dialysis centers. This differs significantly from the 24/7 workings of the naturally functioning kidney. Increasingly, clinicians and patients have recognized opportunities for therapy improvements with more frequent, or daily, dialysis. Hundreds of clinical papers have reported on the health and quality of life benefits of hemodialysis done more frequently. The reported benefits include reduced hypertension, reduced cardiac strain and left ventricular hypertrophy, reduced amyloid disease, and improved anemia status, appetite, and quality of life, including the ability to return to work. A summary of the literature discussing these benefits can be found on NxStage's website, 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. Examples of these forward-looking statements include statements as to the planned patient education days, anticipated release of the patient newsletter, planned activities with the local National Kidney Foundation, anticipated demand for home and/or daily hemodialysis products, and anticipated patient numbers. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond NxStage's control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance or achievements, including market acceptance and demand for NxStage's System One, growth in home and/or daily hemodialysis, and certain other factors that may affect future operating results and which are detailed in NxStage's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. 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.

NxStage Medical, Inc.
http://www.nxstage.com