Last checked at 13 May 2009 11:00
Deltex Medical Group plc
Chairman's Statement to Annual General Meeting
13 May 2009 - Deltex Medical Group plc ("Deltex Medical" or "the Company"), the global leader in oesophageal Doppler monitoring, will today hold its Annual General Meeting. The following is the text of a statement that will be made at the meeting by the Company's chairman, Nigel Keen.
"In the year to date we have continued to make progress towards our goal of establishing the use of the CardioQ-ODM™ as a global standard of care.
Deltex Medical's CardioQ-ODM oesophageal Doppler provides doctors caring for patients having major surgery with a unique and proven means to reduce complications, improve outcomes and reduce lengths of hospital stay.
The evidence-base for the CardioQ-ODM includes multiple randomised controlled trials, independent trial reviews and government-sponsored technology assessments. This evidence is built on the CardioQ-ODM's unique ability to measure and identify reliably small changes in central blood flow. These changes are a very common consequence of surgery and can provoke severe and even life-threatening complications if not dealt with quickly.
In the UK the NHS in England and Wales has embarked a project to establish an enhanced recovery protocol as a standard of care for all patients having major surgery. Also known as fast-track programmes, these evidence-based care packages invariably have at their heart the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques and the use of oesophageal Doppler-guided fluid management. Key teaching hospitals in the UK where these protocols have been developed are already using the CardioQ-ODM routinely and this initiative can only help to expand the number of patients who will benefit from Doppler-guided fluid management in the future. The project's aim is to define the key elements of successful enhanced recovery programmes in time to support a national rollout programme from January 2010
In Europe we continue to pursue accelerated growth through our involvement in fast-track surgery. We are closely involved in major initiatives in Spain, where an ongoing audit of the impact of Doppler-guided fluid management is continuing to deliver substantial reductions in lengths of hospital stay, and in Germany at the Charite hospital in Berlin. On a multinational basis we are collaborating with the leading fast-track and enhanced recovery groupings operating across Europe.
In the United States we are supporting wide scale implementation of Doppler-guided fluid management across a number of large hospitals, both in southern California and in the east of the country. Each of these hospitals is at different point in their respective implementation programme and the number of patients being treated in each institution continues to increase steadily as training progresses. We will report further on these programmes in due course.
In the final quarter of 2008, the Company embarked on a programme of rigorous cost control which, combined with the established momentum driving our sales growth, would see the Company pass the break even point within its existing cash resources. We are able to report that the Company continues to be on track with this plan.
The board looks forward to continued progress throughout the remainder of 2009 and beyond.
Dr George Flouty, a non-executive director of Deltex Medical will be retiring from the board at today's meeting after ten years of service. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank George for his contribution to the board over the years and wish him well with all his future endeavours."
End
For further information, please contact:-
Deltex Medical Group plc 01243 774 837
Nigel Keen, Chairman njk@deltexmedical.com
Andy Hill, Chief Executive ahill@deltexmedical.com
Ewan Phillips, Finance Director eap@deltexmedical.com
Nominated Adviser & Broker
Arden Partners plc 020 7398 1600
Chris Hardie
Matthew Armitt
Kreab Gavin Anderson 020 7554 1400
Deborah Walter dwalter@kreabgavinanderson.com
Robert Speed rspeed@kreabgavinanderson.com
Notes for Editors
Deltex Medical manufactures and markets the CardioQ-ODM™ monitor, which uses disposable ultra-sound probes inserted into the oesophagus to determine the amount of blood being pumped around the body - 'circulating blood volume'. Reduced circulating blood volume is known as hypovolaemia, which leads to insufficient oxygen being delivered to the organs. This causes medical complications including peripheral and major organ failure which can lead to death. Hypovolaemia, which is akin to severe dehydration, affects virtually every patient having surgery because of the combined effects of pre-operative starvation, the impact of the anaesthetic agents and trauma from the surgery itself. Using fluids and drugs, guided by the CardioQ-ODM, to optimise the amount of circulating blood significantly reduces post-operative complications allowing patients to make a faster, more complete recovery and return home earlier.
The CardioQ-ODM incorporates the Company's proprietary software and a small diameter, easy-to-use, minimally invasive, disposable oesophageal probe that is used for transmitting and receiving an ultra-sound signal. By using this technology, the CardioQ-ODM provides clinicians with the ability to haemodynamically optimise critically ill patients and those undergoing routine moderate to major surgery through the controlled administration of fluid and drugs. Haemodynamic optimisation has been scientifically proven to improve the speed and quality of patient recovery and reduce hospital stay.
There are already over 1,600 CardioQ-ODMs currently in use in hospitals worldwide and distribution arrangements are in place in over 30 countries. Over 1,000 patients a week are treated using the CardioQ-ODM. In addition, there are currently approximately 200 clinical publications on the use of the CardioQ-ODM which have repeatedly:-
Validated the results of the Monitor against known standards for measuring cardiac output, demonstrating that the technology works
Proved that the CardioQ-ODM works in a wide range of surgical procedures
Demonstrated that the Company's technology provides significant health and economic benefits by helping to reduce post-operative complications and length of hospital stays by an average of 30 to 40 per cent for a wide range of patients.
The SupraQ™ is an entirely non-invasive device which uses an ultrasound probe held at the base of the patient's neck to track the flow of blood in the aorta; it presents the same data as the CardioQ-ODM in a similar format and is used for taking snapshots or monitoring over short periods.