Sources inform ''Globes'' that medical device company Intercure Ltd. (TASE:INCR) is close to signing a distribution agreement for its RESPeRATE hypertension regulator with a leading US national pharmacy chain. If and when the deal is signed, it will be the first time the company's device has been marketed at pharmacies in the US. In addition to the pending agreement, InterCure is also in talks with two other chains each with 5,000-6,000 branches, as well as several regional chains. The company is due to begin a series of pilots for the RESPeRATE, which if successful, will pave the way for further agreements.
RESPeRATE has been marketed in the US directly until now, through television sales channels or advertisements in the professional journals. The company currently has distribution agreement with the Lloyds Pharmacy chain in the UK, which has 1,700 stores. "Globes" has learned that Lloyds has already placed a second order for the device.
InterCure's RESPeRATE device measures the patient's breathing and then guides him through music at varying speeds, to slow down breathing sufficiently to reduce the patient's blood pressure. The device has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has also permitted the company to advertise it as a device for lowering blood pressure, and is the only such product to win such approval.
InterCure posted NIS 8.8 million in sales in 2007, and NIS 2.2 million sales in the first quarter of 2008.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 18, 2008
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