Health Robotics @ ASHP: Unrivaled Oncology Experience and 2nd Generation i.v.STATION With Auxiliary Robot Arm

BOZEN, SUD-TIROL, Italy, November 28, 2011 -

In Oncology Robotics news, Health Robotics today announced that it plans to exhibit far-reaching evidence of the underlying principles behind its Oncology Robotics’ world market supremacy at the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) 46^th Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition, to be held at New Orleans, Louisiana on 4-8 December 2011 (Booth 619). Additionally, it will also introduce at ASHP a revolutionary, patent-pending, and fully automated Mechatronics^[1] solution [auxiliary mini-robot] for Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) and other sterile compounding auxiliary tasks, capable of reducing drug vials’ waste and patients’ negative side effects associated with human errors in delicate and complex powder/gels reconstitutions. With the aid of the auxiliary mini-robot, i.v.STATION’s and i.v.STATION ONCO’s further extend their current substantial speed advantages over their competitors by means of dual and parallel-robotic-arm-processing working in tandem and synergy.

1^st Generation robots such as CytoCare and its competitors^[2] have been generally characterized by semi-automated sterile compounding tasks, large size and weight requiring costly architecture changes to clean rooms, slow speed/throughput [5 to 20 doses/hour], high price ($1M+), and 3 to 5 years’ R.O.I.s. On the contrary, 2^nd Generation Robots i.v.STATION and i.v.STATION ONCO are fully automated and can be routinely implemented as plug-and-play installations into existing clean rooms over 95% of the time, offering 3 to 4 times faster speed/throughput at less than half the cost, while delivering payback periods/R.O.I.s of less than 1 year. Health Robotics will continue to market CytoCare for those customers that demand custom-made IV solutions such as non-standard IV Bags, bottles and infusors; or otherwise lack bar-coded drug vials and IV Bags, both required by i.v.STATION.

“Since Health Robotics’ founding in 2006, the company has sold 74 Oncology Robots [of which more than 50 are "live" today], while our 3 competitors^[2][combined] have proclaimed 4 Oncology Robot sales since their first product announcement in 1989^[3][of which none have been yet reported as being "live"]. Even before our latest Oncology upgrades to be displayed at ASHP-New Orleans, i.v.STATION 2^nd Generation platform has already compounded Oncology doses for patients before any of our competitors^[2]were able to do the same with their old robots, some dating back 22 years^[3]. Why such a one-sided result? Customers tell us that besides the massive cost and speed advantages of Health Robotics’ products, one of the other main reasons for them selecting our company for Oncology Automation is CytoCare’s and i.v.STATION’s Robots’ flexibility in supporting the very small drug vial sizes required in Oncology, while other competitors^[2]have mainly focused on developing solutions for bulk drug vials, limiting themselves to 17% production; all of which will become self-evident at ASHP,” stated Gaspar DeViedma, Health Robotics’ Executive Vice President.

Together, Health Robotics’ CytoCare (semi-automated) and i.v.STATION (fully-automated) Robots have to-date processed Oncology doses for “live” patients from 603 different drug vials [21% of which require reconstitution], with 58 active ingredients in either Chemotherapy or Monoclonal Antibody Therapy, and distributed by 91 different drug manufacturers around the world. Interestingly, only 17% of these 603 drug vials are bulk vials between 50 & 100ml in size, while 78% of the drug vials being 20ml or less, and 59% of the drug vials’ size being 10ml or less [with many drug vials in 1ml size.]  Competitors^[2] are thus often limited to 17%.

About Health Robotics:

Founded in 2006, Health Robotics is the undisputed global leading supplier of life-critical intravenous medication robots, winning 100% of all worldwide I.V. Robot’s publicly announced purchases over the past 22 months. Well over 200 hospital installations in 6 continents are under contract for our robotics-based technology and software automation solutions. Health Robotics’ world-leading solutions CytoCare® and i.v.STATION® ONCO [hazardous IVs], i.v.STATION® [non- hazardous IVs], i.v.SOFT® [workflow engine for manual compounding], MEDarchiver® [life-critical clinical information system], and TPNstation^[TM] [totally- automated parenteral nutrition] have and will greatly contribute to ease hospital’s growing pressures to improve patient safety, increase throughput and contain costs. Through the effective and efficient production of sterile, accurate, tamper-evident and ready-to-administer IVs, Health Robotics’ products help hospitals eliminate life-threatening drug and diluent exchange errors, decrease other medical mistakes and sterility risks, work more efficiently, reduce waste and controlled substancesʼ diversion, and diminish the gap between rising patient volume/acuity and scarce medical, nursing, and pharmacy staff. For more information, please visit: www.health-robotics.com

1. Mechatronics: The Science of Intelligent Machines. Health Robotics is the only company in the world to receive a Mechatronics award for its I.V. Robots.

2. Competitors Announcing Chemotherapy Robots (Dates): RIVA/Intelligent Hospital Systems [2005], ForHealth Technologies (now Baxa/Baxter) [2008], Panasonic [2009].

3. Am J Hosp Pharm 46(11): 2286-93 1989 (St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg).

For additional information, please contact:
Claudia Flaim, Marketing Coordinator
flaim@health-robotics.com
Phone (Canada): +1-289-470-1456
Phone (Europe): +39(0)471-200-372

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