Alara, Inc. Signs European Distribution Agreement

Hayward, CA, February 25, - Alara, Incorporated announced that it has entered into a three-year agreement with the European Medical Device Distributors Alliance BV (EMDDA) to market its MetriScan' bone densitometer throughout Europe.

The MetriScan is a compact, portable device that provides in-office bone mineral density testing on patients at risk for osteoporosis and related bone fracture. The system performs digital radiographic absorptiometry (RA) using storage phosphor technology to estimate relative bone density of the three middle fingers. Results are available in less than one minute.

EMDDA is an alliance of medical device distribution companies that operate in 20 European countries. EMDDA distributors are in Belgium/Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland/the Baltic States, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Austria and Switzerland. Membership is expected to grow over the next three years as the group plans to expand to several countries such as Turkey, Greece, Poland and Romania.

"This partnership is a great opportunity for Alara, EMDDA and the European customers who will enjoy this convenient method of screening for osteoporosis," said Allan Fleischer, CEO of Alara.

"Our goal is to provide the best European network to create market share in every European country," said Guido Bloemen, president of EMDDA and CEO of Medeco, the EMDDA distributor in the Netherlands. "We offer an existing distribution network covering all of Europe, extensive market and product knowledge, product launch support, sales and product training and market research."

EMDDA's main office, directed by general manager Ton van Dijk, is located in Medeco's headquarters in the Netherlands and offers an array of services including marketing, purchasing, customer service, finance, logistics, quality control, regulatory affairs and technical service. Through its member companies EMDDA has more than 800 sales and marketing representatives all over Europe.

Alara, Inc. is a privately held medical and dental device manufacturer located in Hayward, CA. The ISO 9001 certified company also manufactures the DenOptix® line of digital scanners for the Gendex division of Dentsply International. Both the DenOptix line and MetriScan are 510(k) cleared and have received the CE Mark. The company will introduce a computed radiography product domestically later this year.

For more information see www.alara.com or www.emdda.com.

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