NightBalance Obtains Reimbursement in the Netherlands for its Innovative Sleep Apnea Therapy

NightBalance, a leader in innovative obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) therapies, today announced that the Dutch National Health Care Institute (ZIN) issued a positive recommendation to include its sleep apnea therapy for reimbursement. The Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport will formally approve inclusion of the SPT^® following ZIN's recommendation.

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/622440/NightBalance.jpg )

The approval is based on the company's strong data, demonstrating clinical efficacy, which allowed NightBalance to successfully fulfill the high standards set by the reimbursement approval process in the Netherlands for new medical devices and therapeutics. The government's decision allows health care insurers in the Netherlands to offer all Dutch citizens suffering from POSA the SPT^® device as part of the basic insurance plan. POSA is a subset of OSA, the most common and potentially serious sleep disorder.

"We are delighted with ZIN's recommendation that the Dutch Ministry of Health approve the reimbursement of our sleep apnea therapy, SPT^®. This marks an important milestone for our company" said Eline Vrijland-van Beest, co-founder and CEO of NightBalance. "This approval is the recognition of our ground-breaking work in building a solid clinical data set of more than 80,000 nights in peer reviewed published research, demonstrating the ease of use, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of our therapy and the SPT^® device. We thank the team of the ZIN institute for their cooperation and support in getting to this milestone and look forward to building on this achievement by accelerating access to the SPT^® for POSA patients and clinicians in the Netherlands and other countries."

"The inclusion of SPT^® in the basic insurance plan is great news for all Dutch patients suffering from POSA," said Prof. Dr. Nico De Vries, Ear, Nose & Throat Doctor at Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis (OLVG). "The user-friendly SPT^® offers an excellent alternative to current treatments with more convenience and comfort for the patient and less cost for our system."

About the Sleep Position Trainer - SPT^® 

Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome is a serious disorder in which breathing pauses and re-starts during sleep. Common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome are snoring and excessive tiredness during the daytime. OSA affects approximately 10% of the adult population.

NightBalance's proprietary Sleep Position Trainer (SPT^®) prompts patients not to sleep on their back (supine), preventing Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Worn in a strap around the chest, the patent protected SPT^® constantly measures the patients' sleep position, and gently prompts users to change position without affecting their sleep. The SPT^® allows patients to fall asleep in any desired position, and its smart hardware uses individually adjusted feedback to assure sustained effectiveness. The SPT^® is prescribed by sleep specialists, ear, nose and throat specialists and pulmonologists.

About NightBalance 

NightBalance, founded in 2009 and based in The Hague, the Netherlands, developed and markets the Sleep Position Trainer, a proprietary, highly advanced and easy to use device, to prevent positional obstructive sleep apnea (POSA). CE-marked since 2012, the SPT^® is currently sold in 11 European countries. NightBalance's clinical data supports the efficacy and ease of use of the SPT^®, and has demonstrated a substantial increase in patient compliance versus traditional treatments for POSA.

For more information please visit http://www.nightbalance.com

Contacts - Media Relations:
For the Netherlands :    
CFF Communications
Jan van Ewijk
+31(0)20-575-4011
aniek.zweers@cffcommunications.nl


Contacts - Media Relations:
International:
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Shabnam Bashir/ Sylvie Berrebi
+44(0)20-7638-9571
shabnam.bashir@citigatedewerogerson.com