AngioDynamics Announces Expanding Insurance Coverage of VenaCure Laser Therapy; Anthem, Inc. Covers Laser Ablation Procedure as a Treatment for Varicose Veins
"This is part of a trend we expect to see continue," stated Brian Kunst, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance for AngioDynamics. "An increasing number of insurance companies have been issuing positive coverage policies for endovenous laser treatment over the past 12 months. This coverage decision, combined with the recent establishment of dedicated procedural codes and reimbursement rates for our endovenous laser procedure, gives us significant momentum toward widespread commercial acceptance of this innovative therapy."
Commenting on the announcement, David Doster, VenaCure Product Manager, said, "The long term safety and effectiveness of the procedure is being acknowledged by health benefits companies and Medicare carriers throughout the United States. As the number of covered lives grows, the market for our product expands, allowing more people to take advantage of this less invasive alternative to traditional vein stripping and less costly alternative to radiofrequency ablation."
It is estimated that 80 million people in the United States suffer with varicose veins according to the American College of Dermatology. Current treatments often involve surgical procedures, hospital stays, and prolonged recovery times. The VenaCure procedure is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthetic, and patients can generally resume normal activities upon leaving the doctor's office.
For additional information on the VenaCure laser vein treatment, contact David Doster at 1-800-772-6446, ext. 126, Email: DDoster@angiodynamics.com. You may also visit either the laser treatment web site at www.venacure.com or the AngioDynamics web site at www.angiodynamics.com.
About AngioDynamics
AngioDynamics, Inc. (www.angiodynamics.com) designs, develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices used in minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to treat peripheral vascular disease. It offers a broad line of therapeutic and diagnostic devices that enable interventional physicians, such as interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons and others, to treat peripheral vascular diseases and other non-coronary diseases. AngioDynamics' diversified product line includes angiographic catheters, hemodialysis catheters, PTA dilation catheters, thrombolytic products, image-guided vascular access products, endovascular laser venous system products, as well as drainage products.
The statements made in this document contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words such as "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates," or variations of such words and similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations. In addition to the matters described above, the ability of the Company to develop its products, market acceptance and future sales of the VenaCure Laser Vein Treatment System, results of the pending patent litigation with Diomed, future actions by the FDA or other regulatory agencies, results of pending or future clinical trials, overall economic conditions, general market conditions, market acceptance, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, the effects on pricing from Group Purchasing Organizations, competition, including alternative procedures which continue to replace traditional fluoroscopic procedures, as well as the risk factors listed from time to time in the SEC filings of AngioDynamics Inc., including but not limited to its Form 10K for the year ended May 29, 2004, may affect the actual results achieved by the Company.
CONTACT: AngioDynamics, Inc.
Joe Gerardi, 800-772-6446 x115
http://www.angiodynamics.com/
or
Investor Relations Contacts:
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
Kim Sutton Golodetz, 212-838-3777
kgolodetz@lhai.com
Bruce Voss, 310-691-7100
bvoss@lhai.com
SOURCE: AngioDynamics, Inc.