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340B Prime Vendor Program Adds NitroMed, Inc. To Growing List of Companies Providing Low-Cost Drugs to Clinics, Hospitals and Programs for Low-Income Americans

Posted on: Thursday, 2 February 2006, 18:01 CST

The 340B Prime Vendor Program, managed by HealthCare Purchasing Partners International(TM) (HPPI) announced today that it has added NitroMed, Inc. to its growing list of companies providing drugs, supplies and medical devices to clinics, hospitals and health care programs for low-income Americans. HPPI's two-year contract with NitroMed began in late 2005.

HPPI signed NitroMed, Inc. to the federal program that it began managing exclusively in September 2004. The program, known as the 340B Prime Vendor Program, provides deep discounts on outpatient drug purchases to public hospitals, community health centers, clinics, state-operated AIDS drug assistance programs and other safety-net health care providers serving low income and uninsured patients.

NitroMed will participate by providing BiDil(R), indicated for the treatment of heart failure in self-identified black patients. Heart failure affects approximately five million Americans. There is no cure for the disease, and more than 50% of patients die within five years of diagnosis. Studies indicate that African Americans suffer a disproportionate incidence of heart failure.

"The addition of BiDil(R) to the 340B Prime Vendor Program's contract portfolio further supports our mission of lowering costs and improving access to affordable medications for our participant's patients. BiDil represents an important advance and all appropriate patients should have access to it," said Chris Hatwig, Senior Director of the Prime Vendor Program for HPPI.

"In the landmark African-American Heart Failure Trial (A-HeFT), patients taking current standard heart failure therapies plus BiDil demonstrated significantly improved survival and prolonged time to first hospitalization for heart failure, and substantially improved patient-reported functional status, versus those patients who received current standard therapies plus placebo," said Mark Pavao, Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing for NitroMed. "Offering BiDil through the Prime Vendor Program supports our NitroMed Cares(TM) mission of ensuring that everyone who needs BiDil has access to it. The Prime Vendor Program covers a segment of healthcare that is critical for us to reach."

340B Prime Vendor Program

The Prime Vendor Program was established to increase the discounts already offered under Section 340B of the U.S. Public Health Service Act, providing low-cost drugs to clinics, hospitals and programs for low-income Americans. Over 12,000 providers across the country qualify to participate in the discount program at no cost, and more than 2,000 facilities are currently enrolled. HealthCare Purchasing Partners International, an Irving, Texas-based health care group purchasing organization co-owned by VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium, administers the program. Visit the Section 340B Prime Vendor Program web site at http://www.340bpvp.com/ for more information about the program.

About NitroMed

NitroMed(R) is an emerging biotechnology pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of proprietary pharmaceuticals based on the therapeutic benefits of the naturally occurring molecule nitric oxide. Our goal is to become a leading, multi-product pharmaceutical company by developing additional innovative nitric oxide products and by building on our BiDil(R) development experience and commercialization infrastructure to identify and market additional products for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases for the African American population. For more information about NitroMed contact Laura Littlechild at 781-266-4207 or visit us at www.nitromed.com.

 Contact: Kristin Lucido 972/830.6840 Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=5C759B9B1BF64A8B  

SOURCE: Novation

Source: MARKET WIRE

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