Alere Medical Inc. Announces Funding of $10.2 Million; New Funding Allows Alere to Grow to Market-leading Position.

Medical & Health Writers/Business Editors

RENO, Nev.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 27, 2002

Alere(R) Medical Incorporated, the leader in care management and remote monitoring of patients with advanced heart failure, today announced the completion of $10.2 million of additional funding. Existing investors providing $5M in equity funding include IVP of Menlo Park, CA, S.R. One of Conshohocken, PA, One Liberty of Boston, MA, and Nevada Ventures of Reno, NV. Additionally, a new investor, Western Technology Investment of San Jose, CA., has also committed to an equity contribution and the availability of an additional $5 million of debt financing for Alere's existing and future home monitoring equipment.

Ed Kania, managing partner of One Liberty Ventures, said, "We're pleased to provide the additional funding to a company with a proven product, the track record of significant growth, and more importantly, the ability to help patients who have advanced chronic illnesses stay at home safely. We believe that the Alere program has the opportunity of becoming the standard of care for advanced Congestive Heart Failure. Jack Lloyd, the Chairman and Founder had the foresight to develop a product that utilizes objective monitoring equipment at home linked to a nurse call center that receives not only the objective data but subjective symptom reports and provides that information to the patient's cardiologist or primary care physician when a medical intervention is required. Patients feel cared for; physicians are able to intervene in a timely fashion to improve care, and it saves the payer significant money from the day the equipment goes in place. Everyone is a winner with Alere."

"One of the major impediments to growing the company rapidly has been our challenge in consuming cash to provide monitoring equipment to every patient that needs it," says Jack Lloyd, Board Chair. "Western Technology Investment has stepped up to provide us with the debt funding required to get the equipment into every patient's home that can benefit from our services."

"Since our results demonstrate that monitoring of patients at home not only saves significantly on the cost of care but also dramatically improves clinical outcomes and mortality over time, we believe that Medicare reimbursement should be made available not only in the private sector where we now work but through Medicare. We are in the process of confirming these results in two Medicare Demonstration Grants and are keeping CMS informed of our results," says Melissa Prince-Quisenberry, a Founder of the Company and Board member.

Ronald Geraty, M.D., who recently became CEO of the company said "We keep patients who have advanced Congestive Heart Failure out of the hospital by providing the highest standards of service and by leveraging technology in a way that healthcare internet companies promised, but have failed to deliver. Alere is the proven alternative to the generic disease management concept. We're fortunate to have investors who are sophisticated enough to see the big picture and now we've found a venture leasing company (Western Technology Investment) who will provide us with the debt financing to take us to the next level of success."

The AlereNet(TM) System

Alere is a medical monitoring company focused on improving the lives of patients with congestive heart failure. The AlereNet system provides an at-home technology that enables the collection and exchange of biometric and symptomatic information between patients and caregivers. Patients initiate the monitoring process each morning by simply standing on the DayLink(R) monitor, located in their home. A phone line to the Alere Network easily and automatically transmits the information to a central call station monitored by cardiac-trained nurses who analyze trends that may reveal a change in the patient's health status. If indicated, the patient's doctor is notified, and the need for clinical intervention is assessed before an expensive hospital admission or emergency room visit is required. Such close monitoring and communication with AlereNet has proven successful in dramatically reducing patient crisis events, unnecessary hospitalizations and therefore payer costs. AlereNet helps patients adhere to their physician-prescribed health-regimen including medications, weight and diet and currently has an unprecedented patient compliance rate of 95%. Alere's customers include HMOs, at-risk providers, and disease management companies.

About Western Technology Investment

WTI is a specialist in venture lending to start-up and emerging growth companies, and is the largest independent venture lending organization. Founded in 1980, WTI has consistently demonstrated its long-term commitment to this sector, and possesses the experience and resources necessary to support clients in both up and down markets. WTI has raised ten private funds and has originated over $1.5 billion dollars in financing for over 400 clients. Through its venture lending operations, WTI entities hold warrants in numerous client companies. WTI is headquartered in Silicon Valley. Visit WTI at www.westerntech.com.

About Alere

Alere(R) Medical Incorporated is a privately held care management company and leader in the development of technology and services that remotely monitor patients with heart failure. Alere's products establish remote connectivity and communication between patients, their physicians, and care managers. Currently in use in 26 states, AlereNet(TM) enables patients with congestive heart failure to have their condition assessed daily to avoid a crisis such as emergency care or hospitalization. The AlereNet system improves patient outcomes, reduces provider costs and enriches overall care. Founded in 1996, Alere is headquartered in Reno, Nevada with technology development based in Concord, California. For more information, visit www.alere.com.