NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - September 2, 2010) - Daxor Corporation (
This is the second dividend the Company has declared for 2010. The Company paid a dividend of $0.10 per share on Wednesday, June 16, 2010.
These payments are in keeping with the declaration of Company management in 2008 to pay dividends when funds are available.
For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company paid a total dividend of $1.35 per share as follows: $0.10 per share on June 15th, $0.25 per share on September 8th and $1.00 per share on December 24, 2009.
As part of our ongoing research and development efforts, Daxor is actively supporting several clinical trials in three strategic areas: Critical Care Medicine, Heart Failure and Blood Loss During Surgery. One study has recently been completed: Blood Volume Analysis in treating Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Patients - A Prospective, Randomized Outcome Study. The objective of this study was to investigate whether inclusion of measured blood volume analysis using Daxor's Blood Volume Analyzer (BVA-100) in the diagnosis and treatment of ICU patients would result in (1) a change in their treatment; (2) improved clinical outcomes; and (3) reductions in the cost of care. In addition, two of Daxor's Heart Failure Investigators will present their preliminary research findings at the annual Heart Failure Society of America meeting which will take place in San Diego, California from September 12-15, 2010.
Daxor Corporation is sponsoring a multi-center, prospective, randomized clinical trial (TEAM-HF) which will compare heart failure management strategies based on either standard clinical practices or on direct blood volume measurement through the use of Daxor's BVA-100. Dr. Stuart Katz, the Director of the Heart Failure Program at New York University, will serve as the National Principal Investigator for this study.
There are currently five million Congestive Heart Failure patients in the United States. Heart Failure is the leading cause of hospital admission in patients over 65 years of age. Medicare currently bases reimbursement decisions on the patient's diagnosis regardless of how many days a patient spends in a hospital. This creates a strong financial incentive for hospitals to discharge patients as early as possible for a given diagnosis. Medicare has become aware that hospitals are discharging patients prematurely, before their treatment is completed. In fact, twenty percent of heart failure patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, at which point the hospital receives another round of reimbursement for the same condition.
Medicare is considering the implementation of new guidelines in which hospitals do not get reimbursed for congestive heart failure patients who are readmitted within 30 days of discharge. One hospital which has purchased the BVA-100 recognizes this problem and has implemented a policy in which the majority of patients admitted for congestive heart failure must be diagnosed and treated on the basis of a blood volume measurement. Such patients will also be given at least one subsequent blood volume measurement prior to discharge to ensure that they are not prematurely discharged.
The objective of TEAM-HF is to determine whether incorporation of blood volume results into the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients leads to decreased hospitalization and mortality, and an improvement in exercise capacity and quality of life. This trial will enroll 300 heart failure patients from 12 medical centers. If it can be demonstrated in a large-scale study that blood volume analysis leads to better patient outcomes, the BVA-100 may become a standard of care in heart failure. Patient enrollment into this study is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010. This is the largest study supported by Daxor to date.
Daxor Corporation manufactures and markets the BVA-100, the only FDA-approved semi-automated Blood Volume Analyzer. The BVA-100 is used in conjunction with Volumex, Daxor's single use diagnostic kit. For more information regarding Daxor Corporation's Blood Volume Analyzer BVA-100, visit Daxor's website www.Daxor.com.
Contact Information:
Contact Information:
Stephen Feldschuh
Chief Operating Officer
212-330-8515
stephen@daxor.com
Diane Meegan
Investor Relations
212-330-8512
dmeegan@daxor.com