DECN Steps Into Role of White Knight by Offering Strategic Version of GenStrip(TM) Exclusively for Medicare Competitive Bidding Program
LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/29/13 -- Decision Diagnostics Corp. (OTCBB: DECN), the exclusive worldwide sales, service and regulatory processes agent for the Shasta GenStrip™, the Green Test Strip, specifically designed to work with the Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) LifeScan family of glucose testing meters, announced today that the company and its subsidiary PharmaTech Solutions, Inc. have launched a strategically packaged version of the Shasta GenStrip™ for sale to companies who service the "direct to patient" fulfillment (mail order and durable medical goods) channels. This channel, estimated to command a share in excess of 25% of all diabetes testing, takes on increased importance as a result of Medicare's mandated competitive bidding, which is anticipated to lower reimbursement of supplies and medical goods for diabetics by approximately 67% beginning July 1, 2013 and thus to lower market diversity in this important and traditional channel.
The importance of this strategy was recently borne out by the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE), a regulatory watchdog founded and managed by former regulatory officials, recently wrote that "there is no way a supplier can obtain brand name testing supplies, employ the staff to fulfill reorders, bill Medicare, and maintain a sophisticated fulfillment center(s) at that rate." Further "... there will also be a tremendous ripple going through anyone that works in the blood glucose testing space: companies will fold, many jobs will be lost (manufacturing, sales, fulfillment, R&D). There are companies that went out of business when this reimbursement change was announced, they just don't know they are out of business yet."
Keith Berman, CFO of the company and President of Pharma Tech Solutions, stated, "Our new Mail Order/Competitive Bidding version of GenStrip™ will offer the brand name market an alternative where companies in the 'direct to patient' fulfillment business can offer high quality diabetic test strips and still make a profit without forcing diabetics to endure crippling co-payments."
DECN is a leading provider of prescription and non-prescription diagnostics, home testing products for the chronically ill and a premier developer of revolutionary cell phone centric e-health products and technologies. DECN's FDA cleared Shasta GenStrip™ product was first introduced to the market in late 2012 as a lower cost (50%) alternative for user/owners of Johnson and Johnson LifeScan OneTouch® Ultra®, Ultra2® and Ultra Mini® glucose meters.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This release contains forward-looking statements about our business or financial condition that reflect our assumptions and beliefs based on information currently available. We can give no assurance that the expectations indicated by such forward-looking statements will be realized. There may be other risks and circumstances that we are unable to predict. When used in this release, words such as "believes," "expects," "forecasts," "intends," "projects," "plans," "anticipates," "estimates," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although there may be certain statements not accompanied by such expressions.
For further information about Shasta Genstrip, please visit the company's Web Sites: http://www.decisiondiagnostics.com or http://www.genstrip.com. The company's Genstrip videos can be viewed at http://www.pharmatechdirect.com.
GenStrip™ test strips are a product of Shasta Technologies, LLC and are not manufactured, distributed, endorsed, or approved by nor associated with LifeScan®, Inc. a Johnson & Johnson® Company, manufacturers and distributors of the OneTouch® Ultra® Family of Meters and OneTouch® Ultra® test strips.