Conceptus' Essure System Now Available Nationwide; Revolutionary Permanent Birth Control Option Now Offered at Top Medical Centers.Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2003 Conceptus conceptus /con·cep·tus/ (-tus) the product of the union of oocyte and spermatozoon at any stage of development from fertilization until birth, including extraembryonic membranes as well as the embryo or fetus. , Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :CPTS CPTS Certified Penetration Testing Specialist (network security) CPTS Comptroller Squadron CPTS Computer Program Test Specifications CPTS Catastrophe Personnel Tracking System CPTS Claims Procedure Training Specialist ) Leading Health Insurance Carriers Positively Cover the Procedure Conceptus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPTS) today announced the nationwide availability of Essure(TM). Additionally, several presentations about Essure, including a poster about patients' long-term satisfaction with the Essure method and a video focusing on the use of the recently approved method, will be featured at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is a professional association of medical doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States. It has a membership of over 49,000[1] and represents 90 percent of U.S. 51st Annual Clinical Meeting in New Orleans, LA, April 28-30, 2003. In November 2002, the United States Food and Drug Administration United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), n.pr a unit of the Public Health Service created to protect the health of the nation against impure and unsafe foods, drugs, and cosmetics. approved Essure, the first alternative to incisional tubal Tubal (t  `bəl), in the Bible, son of Japheth. ligation ligation /li·ga·tion/ (li-ga´shun) the application of a ligature.tubal ligation sterilization of the female by constricting, severing, or crushing the uterine tubes. for women seeking permanent birth control in the United States. Most recently, Essure was selected as one of the top 10 medical advances of 2002 by Health magazine. Conceptus noted that the Essure procedure continues to receive positive coverage decisions from leading health insurance carriers. Aetna U.S. Healthcare, the largest U.S. provider of health benefits, joins a list of leading health insurance companies who have established a coverage policy for Essure, making it widely available to women and couples seeking an alternative to tubal ligation or vasectomy vasectomy, male sterilization by surgical excision of the vas deferens, the thin duct that carries sperm cells from the testicles to the prostate and the penis. in the United States. "I'm very excited to be able to offer women Essure at my practice and I'm confident it will be widely accepted among the obstetrics and gynecology obstetrics and gynecology Medical and surgical specialty concerned with the management of pregnancy and childbirth and with the health of the female reproductive system. community," said Barbara S. Levy, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Washington School of Medicine The University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) is a public medical school located in Seattle, Washington. It is a graduate school affiliated with the University of Washington, and is the only medical school in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, and Idaho. . "I have already received positive feedback from my colleagues and patients about the benefits Essure offers; no incisions, no general anesthesia Anesthesia, General Definition General anesthesia is the induction of a state of unconsciousness with the absence of pain sensation over the entire body, through the administration of anesthetic drugs. and a speedy recovery." Top Medical Centers Nationwide Offering Essure Conceptus noted that many of the nation's top hospitals, including Montefiore Medical Center Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx, New York, is the university hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The hospital, named after Moses Montefiore, is one of the 50 largest employers in New York State [1]. in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a leading American healthcare provider and institution for medical research. It consistently ranks in US News and World Report's "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 best hospitals in America. , Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, and Baylor University Medical Center Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) is located at 3500 Gaston Avenue in east Dallas, Texas (USA). Its medical services are often listed in the annual U.S. News & World Report compilation of Best Hospitals. in Houston have physicians on their medical staffs that can now offer Essure to their patients seeking permanent birth control. Conceptus is also working with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to launch a program to make the Essure procedure available through local Planned Parenthood clinics. "I am thrilled to have joined the company at such an exciting time, especially with the positive reimbursement decisions by leading insurance carriers. Achieving this type of acceptance is a significant milestone for Conceptus," said Mark M. Sieczkarek, the recently appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Conceptus, Inc. "We are fully committed to making Essure the standard of care for women seeking permanent birth control. Essure's nationwide availability will allow women across the country to meet the need for permanent birth control without unduly interrupting their lives." Currently, an estimated 700,000 American women undergo incisional tubal ligation each year, making it the most common form of contraception in the United States. Unlike traditional tubal ligation, which requires an abdominal incision and is typically done under regional or general anesthesia, Essure requires no incisions and can be performed without general anesthesia. Data from the Pivotal trial of Essure showed that 92 percent of Essure patients who were employed outside the home returned to work in one day or less after the day of the procedure, and most patients were back to their regular physical activities within one to two days. A Need for New Permanent Birth Control Options According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. , tubal ligation continues to be the most prevalent form of birth control in the U.S., with 41 percent of women aged 35 to 39 and 50 percent of women age 40 to 44 choosing tubal ligation, despite the fact that it is invasive and costly. About 93 percent of tubal ligation procedures in the U.S. are performed in a hospital or surgi-center under general anesthesia, typically requiring four to six days of recovery before a patient returns to regular activities. About Essure Essure deploys a soft micro-insert into the fallopian tube through the cervix using a minimally invasive transcervical tubal access catheter. Once in place, the device is designed to elicit tissue growth in and around the micro-insert to form an occlusion or blockage in the fallopian tube. An Essure procedure does not require cutting or penetrating the abdomen and can be performed in a less costly procedure setting without general anesthesia. A woman is expected to return home about 45 minutes after the procedure is completed. About Conceptus Conceptus, Inc. manufactures and markets Essure, which is designed to provide a non-incisional alternative to tubal ligation, the leading form of birth control worldwide. The availability of Essure in the U.S. is expected to open up a market currently occupied by surgical tubal ligation and vasectomy, which combined account for over 1 million procedures annually in the United States. Additional information about Conceptus is available at www.conceptus.com or by calling 1-877-ESSURE2. Additional information about the Essure procedure is available at www.essure.com or by calling the Essure Information line at 1-877-ESSURE1. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements, the accuracy of which is necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties. Clinical efficacy of and market demand for our product and the results of our marketing programs, among other matters discussed in this release, may differ significantly from the discussion of such matters in the forward-looking statements. Such differences may be based upon factors within the Company's control, such as strategic planning decisions by management and re-allocation of internal resources, or on factors outside of the Company's control, such as decisions by regulatory authorities and insurance carriers, scientific advances by third parties and introduction of competitive products, as well as those factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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