RITA Medical Systems Provides Comment on New CIGNA Healthcare Coverage for Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) in Certain Lung Cancer
30 3월 2006 - 9:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
Nation's Largest Private Healthcare Insurer First to Cover RFA for
Lung Tumors FREMONT, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
RITA Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RITA), a publicly-traded medical
device company focused solely on cancer therapies, today commented
on new coverage initiated by CIGNA HealthCare for RFA in certain
lung cancer cases. In the "CIGNA HealthCare Coverage Position"
dated February 15, 2006 and published on the CIGNA HealthCare
website, the Company notes that CIGNA Healthcare covers RFA as
medically necessary for the treatment of lung masses in patients
with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or lung metastases who are
not appropriate candidates for surgical intervention. "We believe
CIGNA is the first private healthcare benefits company to provide
specific coverage for RFA to be used in the lung, which we believe
represents an important milestone in the acceptance of RFA," said
Joseph DeVivo, President and CEO of RITA Medical. "Lung cancer has
the highest mortality of all cancers in Americans, according to the
American Cancer Society, and treating these patients with RFA is an
important potential market for RITA." CIGNA's coverage position can
be viewed at:
http://www.cigna.com/health/provider/medical/procedural/coverage_positions/med
ical/mm_0440_coveragepositioncriteria_ablation_pulmonary_tumors.pdf
. About RITA Medical RITA Medical Systems develops, manufactures
and markets innovative products for cancer patients including
radiofrequency ablation (RFA) systems for treating cancerous tumors
as well as percutaneous vascular and spinal access systems. The
Company's oncology product lines include implantable ports, some of
which feature its proprietary Vortex(R) technology; tunneled
central venous catheters; and safety infusion sets and peripherally
inserted central catheters used primarily in cancer treatment
protocols. The product line also includes the HABIB 4X resection
device which coagulates a "surgical resection plane" and is
designed to facilitate a fast dissection in order to minimize blood
loss and blood transfusion during surgery. The proprietary RITA RFA
system uses radiofrequency energy to heat tissue to a high enough
temperature to ablate it or cause cell death. In March 2000, RITA
became the first RFA Company to receive specific FDA clearance for
unresectable liver lesions in addition to its previous general FDA
clearance for the ablation of soft tissue. In October 2002, RITA
again became the first company to receive specific FDA clearance,
this time for the palliation of pain associated with metastatic
lesions involving bone. The RITA Medical Systems website is at
http://www.ritamedical.com/. The statements in this news release
related to reimbursement by CIGNA for the use of RFA in the lung,
the mortality related to lung cancer in the United States, the
growth of physician adoption of RFA treatment, the safety and the
efficacy of RFA, the impact of CPT codes, and the achievement of
key milestones and regulatory approvals are forward-looking
statements involving risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in such
forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include
but are not limited to: the Company's ability to compete with
companies offering alternative therapies for solid cancerous and
benign tumors; the Company's lack of long-term data regarding the
safety and efficacy of its RFA products; the Company's success in
its physician training efforts; market acceptance and physician
adoption of the Company's products for existing or new indications;
competitive pressures; the ability of users of the Company's
products to receive reimbursement from third-party payors,
governmental programs or private insurance plans; and general
economic and political conditions. Information regarding these
risks is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: RITA Medical Systems, Inc.
CONTACT: investors, Doug Sherk, , or Jennifer Beugelmans, both of
EVC Group, +1-415-896-6820, for RITA Medical Systems, Inc.; or
media, Juliana Minsky of SurfMedia Communications, +1-805-962-3700,
or , for RITA Medical Systems, Inc.; or Stephen Pedroff, VP
Marketing Communications of RITA Medical Systems, Inc.,
+1-510-771-0400, or Web site: http://www.ritamedical.com/
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