NxStage Announces Strategic Business Alliance with Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical
– Alliance Establishes Partnership with Leading Renal Products Company in Asia
– Collaboration Expected to Yield Gross Margin Improvement and Accelerate Path to Profitability
– Financing Provided in Connection with Alliance Significantly Improves Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
LAWRENCE, Mass.,
The alliance combines the complementary strengths of the two partners in innovative and competitive technology, product development, and market presence. This transaction is expected to enable both companies to accelerate their global growth strategy through mutual synergy.
Elements of the Alliance:
Dialyzer Assembly
NxStage will assemble and label its dialyzers for Asahi under the Asahi name brand at NxStage’s facilities in
Licensing
NxStage will grant Asahi a royalty-free license to its production technology to make and sell NxStage’s current dialyzer design exclusively in Asia and non-exclusively in rest of world; however, NxStage is retaining all its rights in
Hollow-Fiber Membrane Supply
Asahi will supply its high performance polysulfone hollow-fiber membrane to NxStage for NxStage branded products in
Financial Backing
Asahi will provide NxStage with
Other Collaboration
Joint business development will be pursued in areas as mutually agreed upon between the two companies. Possible areas include the development of therapeutic apheresis systems using NxStage’s technology, collaboration on raw materials sourcing, and possible joint hemodialysis systems development programs. NxStage also granted Asahi a right of first negotiation for exclusive distribution rights of the NxStage System One in Asia.
Our relationship with one of the largest renal product companies in Asia is an important step for NxStage as we extend our commercial operations globally, stated
NxStage has proven its ability to produce high-performing, low-cost dialyzers in the competitive renal products market, stated Yasuyuki Yoshida, Chief Executive Officer and President of Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical. We are aligning ourselves with a diversified leader in US renal care with superb products and an impressive track record. We believe this alliance leverages Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical’s leadership position, providing us a strong and growing partner for our world class fiber technology.
The agreements with Asahi are conditioned upon NxStage obtaining a payoff letter and associated documentation from the lenders under its GE credit facility.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
NxStage management will hold a conference call to discuss this new alliance today,
A replay of the conference call will be available 3 hours after the start of the call through
About Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical
Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical is dedicated to the advancement of world-leading technology in the fields of hemodialysis, therapeutic apheresis, transfusion therapy, and virus removal for biotherapeutic products. Asahi Kasei Kuraray Medical works to introduce innovative therapies for intractable diseases by extending the frontiers of medical devices and system, combining its core technology in functional materials for membrane filtration and selective adsorption with advanced pharmacology, chemistry, and mechanical engineering. The group is structured with
About
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking, and the words anticipate, believe, expect, estimate, plan, and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Examples of these forward-looking statements include statements as to the anticipated acceleration of profitability, improvements in gross margins, improvements in balance sheet, improvements in cash flow, anticipated growth opportunities, and other expected benefits of the Asahi strategic alliance as well as the anticipated closing of this alliance. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond NxStage’s control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance or achievements, including market acceptance and demand for NxStage’s dialyzers and ability to achieve cost reductions and other anticipated benefits of the alliance, and certain other factors that may affect future operating results and which are detailed in NxStage’s filings with the
Contacts:
VP, Investor Relations
ksheppard@nxstage.com
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