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COVANCE CENTRAL DIAGNOSTICS OFFERS NEW HOLTER MONITORING SERVICE
Technology helps reduce drug development cost and improve quality of ECG data |
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PRINCETON, N.J., 12 June 2000 — Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD) announced the successful launch of a Continuous Ambulatory Electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring service — more commonly known as Holter monitoring — through Covance Central Diagnostics, based in Reno, Nevada. Holter monitoring offers the pharmaceutical industry a means of continuously recording electrocardiographic (ECG) data. It helps to identify rare or infrequent cardiac events in a clinical trial that may be missed by the conventional ECG.
Holter monitoring has commonly been used to identify arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). More recently this same type if monitoring has been used to identify ischemia (inadequate oxygen supply to the heart). The Holter device provides more flexibility in monitoring these conditions than conventional ECG because study participants can wear the device outside of the medical setting, according to Daniel Goodman, M.D., Medical Affairs Director of Covance Central Diagnostics. Conventional ECGs must be recorded in the doctor's office or hospital. "If a patient is having an irregular heart beat, chances are it won't be happening when the patient goes to the doctor's office for an ECG," said Dr. Goodman. "The Holter monitor allows us to capture these adverse events."
Patients typically wear the Holter device for 24 to 48 hours. The device records and stores electric signals from the heart. It uses state-of-the-art digital technology that eliminates the limitations of tape, such as stretching, jamming, or breakage. When the device is removed the electric waves are analyzed to identify adverse events. "The continuous monitoring of ECG data helps to reduce overall costs while increasing the overall quality of the data," said Dr. Goodman.
One of the most frequent problems with Holter monitoring is technology failure at the time of initial patient hook-up. Covance uses a unique approach to Holter monitoring quality control that reduces this problem. Covance integrates the Holter hook-up procedure with the verification ECG. Specifically, a signal is transmitted over the telephone and verification is received to ensure the technology is functioning properly before the patient leaves the clinic.
Covance is currently providing Holter monitoring for a major study specifically for ischemia in a global trial involving more than 150 sites on three continents. One of the goals of the study is to reduce the time to completion of a typical outcome study from five years to one year.
Holter monitoring services as provided by Covance were the first topic of an educational E-Conference series that was pioneered by Covance earlier this year. By the end of June, you will be able to link to archives of all Covance E-Conferences from our web site (including the Holter monitoring conference). Please keep checking www.covance.com for details. To register for future free E-Conference, contact Kimberly Paul-Gerweck at 609/419-2465.
Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies with 1999 revenues of $829 million, global operations, and approximately 7,500 employees worldwide. Information on Covance's products and services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained through our website at: www.covance.com.
Statements contained in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All such forward-looking statements including the statements contained herein regarding the demand for Holter monitoring services are based largely on management's expectations and are subject to and qualified by risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, growth in demand for Holter monitoring services and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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