EDAP Granted Special Temporary Reimbursement For Ablatherm-HIFU In France

LYON, France, Feb. 2, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EDAP TMS SA (Nasdaq:EDAP), the global leader in therapeutic ultrasound, announced today it has been granted a special temporary reimbursement for Ablatherm-HIFU for the treatment of localized prostate cancer by the French National Authority for Health ("HAS"). The grant follows a comprehensive review of Ablatherm-HIFU clinical results. This step by HAS reflects a new reimbursement process dedicated to innovative therapies, which allows Ablatherm-HIFU technology to be granted temporary reimbursement while setting up a dedicated treatment registry for the next five years.

Marc Oczachowski, Chief Executive Officer of EDAP TMS, commented, "This temporary reimbursement is a major milestone towards establishing definitive reimbursement in France for our HIFU treatment for localized prostate cancer. It clearly validates Ablatherm-HIFU's growth potential in France. HAS estimates the potential number of patients to be treated annually by our technology to be approximately 10,000 primary care patients and 800 radiotherapy failure patients. We see this potential as a significant expansion opportunity compared to a total of 800 patients treated last year in France without reimbursement."

Pierre Reboul, Sales Director for EDAP TMS in France, commented, "We are very pleased with this positive recommendation from HAS, which is a definitive first step in the reimbursement process. It is a significant recognition of our HIFU treatment option by the French Authorities. It will allow HIFU centers in France to receive reimbursement for Ablatherm treatments and to contribute treatment results to a dedicated registry database. We will continue to work closely with the authorities in the coming months to establish the temporary reimbursement rate. We will pursue our close cooperation with the French Urology Association to facilitate implementation of such reimbursement structure across selected clinical sites."

Patient population covered by such reimbursement includes selected primary care patients with localized prostate cancer who cannot undergo surgery or radiotherapy and patients with recurrence of their cancer after radiotherapy.

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