Alere Medical Acquires Disease Management Business of National Jewish Medical and Research Center; Strategic Acquisition Strengthens Alere's Commitment to Specializing in Multiple Disease Areas; Company to Expand with New Call Center in Denver, Colorado.

RENO, Nev. -- Alere Medical Inc., the leading specialty disease management company, and National Jewish Medical and Research Center announced that they have reached a definitive agreement for Alere to purchase National Jewish Medical and Research Center's disease management programs in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The move is designed to continue Alere's expansion into multiple disease management categories.

National Jewish Medical and Research Center is a nationally recognized leader in asthma and COPD management. Under the terms of the acquisition, Alere Medical will operate disease management programs under the name National Jewish Medical and Research Center. COPD affects an estimated 12 million Americans and is the nation's fourth leading cause of death, accounting for nearly $32.1 billion in 2002, according to federal health statistics. Asthma afflicts about 20 million Americans. Its prevalence has doubled in the past 20 years and it is the most common chronic illness among children. Direct health care costs for asthma total about $11.5 billion annually.

"National Jewish Medical and Research Center is a recognized industry leader in respiratory treatment and research," said Ron Geraty, M.D., chief executive officer, Alere Medical. "The organization and its staff have an outstanding reputation for offering innovative and compassionate disease management programs for asthma and COPD patients in concert with their physicians. We see its addition to the Alere family of disease management programs as integral to our plans for firmly establishing ourselves as a diversified and nationally recognized disease management company."

As a result of the transaction, Alere will open a respiratory services nursing call center in Denver that will result in the hiring of approximately 40 staff members including the clinical staff currently employed by National Jewish's disease management unit.

"We are pleased to be joining Alere, a company that has demonstrated excellence in disease management and, like us, has a vision for elevating it further to benefit patients and physicians," said Lynn Taussig, M.D. President and CEO of National Jewish Medical and Research Center. "Together, we look forward to expanding its commitment to clinical excellence, evidence-based medicine and superior savings for its clients."

"We value Alere's business ethic and commitment to specialized approaches, and know we are placing our own clients in good hands," added David Tinkelman, vice president of health initiatives at National Jewish.

Terms of the transaction were not announced.

About Alere Medical Inc.

Alere Medical Incorporated is a leader in specialized, disease management services focusing on select high cost diseases to maximize clients' return on investment. Alere produces unequalled clinical and cost saving results, by precision targeting the patients who will benefit most from specialty interventions. Alere's integrated care monitoring system identifies and monitors all medium- and high-risk patients, and prioritizes those patients to facilitate efficient workflow. With published outcomes that exceed those of any competitor, Alere Medical's disease management programs result in improved clinical outcomes for patients, and guaranteed savings for clients.

Alere Medical has received NCQA Patient Oriented Full Accreditation for its Heart Failure Disease Management Program (2004-2007), and is also ranked #64 on the Inc. 500 list of America's fastest-growing private companies (2004). For more information, visit www.alere.com or call 775-829-8885.

About National Jewish Medical and Research Center

National Jewish is the only medical and research center in the United States devoted entirely to respiratory, allergic and immune-system diseases, including asthma, tuberculosis, emphysema, severe allergies, cystic fibrosis, lupus and other autoimmune diseases.

National Jewish physician/researchers participate in numerous National Institutes of Health studies that evaluate new and existing treatments for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergies and other diseases. They also serve on several NIH advisory boards that write guidelines for treatment of respiratory and allergic diseases. National Jewish's basic research program has also been ranked among the world's best.

U.S. News recently named National Jewish as the number one respiratory hospital in the Country and number one in reputation among pulmonologists for the last eight consecutive years.