Chest to distribute Aerocrine airway inflammation detector in Japan

20 February 2008

Swedish airway products company Aerocrine AB (STO:AERO) has entered into a distribution agreement with Chest MI Inc to market and sell Aerocrine's Niox Mino in Japan.

Niox Mino is a handheld device that in a couple of minutes gauges the inflammation in the airways, the underlying cause of asthma.

Treatment of asthma focuses primarily on keeping the inflammation under control, which leads to fewer symptoms and less acute asthma exacerbations. Eight million people suffers from asthma in Japan and the disease causes around 3,000 deaths yearly, primarily due to inferior disease control.

Chest manufactures and sells products to measure lung function and oxygen delivery systems for home use. It has a 50% share of the Japanese market and over 10 local sales offices

"Chest is an ideal partner for marketing and sales of our product in Japan," says Paul de Potocki, CEO of Aerocrine. "The company has established relations and years of experience from selling medical devices to our prime target groups. Chest has also shown an impressive knowledge and enthusiasm for our product and method of inflammatory control."

Aerocrine is headquartered in Sweden and has subsidiaries in the US, Germany and the UK.