Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Cholestech's Product Quality Leadership in Cholesterol Monitoring

Business Wire, June 6, 2005

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Frost & Sullivan recently named Cholestech Corporation (NASDAQ:CTEC) as the recipient of the 2005 Product Quality Leadership of the Year Award for the company's innovative Cholestech LDX product in the cholesterol monitoring market. This award acknowledges the widespread acceptance of the product among patients and physicians.

Frost & Sullivan presents the Product Quality Leadership of the Year Award to the company that has demonstrated superior quality control over its competitors in product manufacturing. Quality control is essential to satisfy customers, increase repeat buying behavior, and ensure long-term market survival.

The Cholestech LDX(R) System, used in the physician's office, generates comprehensive, lab accurate results in five minutes. This allows physicians to test for cholesterol, review test results and provide counsel on treatment options all in the same office visit. Using a single drop of blood, the test can measure a patient's lipid profile to determine overall cholesterol levels, liver enzymes, blood sugar, and soon, high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP).

The Cholestech LDX System consists of an LDX analyzer, single-use test cassettes and accessories, quality control materials, disposable supplies, and educational materials. It is user-friendly and its directions for use include three simple steps -- collecting blood sample from the fingerstick and adding it to the test cassette, inserting the cassette and pressing the 'Run' button, and reviewing the results in just five minutes.

These rapid and accurate results from a simple fingerstick have popularized the Cholestech LDX product. The user-friendly system has built broad acceptance, and the product has been thriving worldwide. In fact, the efficacy of the product is helping to drive the cholesterol monitoring market, even though it is still only in its infancy stage.

Market participants envisage tremendous opportunity in the United States alone, where 13.2 million individuals suffer from coronary heart disease (CHD) and more than 100 million could have a cholesterol related problem. The NIH estimates 200 million Americans should be regularly screened for high cholesterol.

"Manufacturers realize that even without any reimbursement, the market is currently experiencing growth rates topping 45 percent," says Frost & Sullivan research analyst Alpesh Gandhi. "Recently, Medicare started reimbursing for lipid screenings, which is anticipated to boost the market growth rate."

Due to the considerable investment required in R&D to introduce a product, there are very few participants in the market. However, the number of companies is expected to rise once the market expands. With greater awareness regarding the availability of at-home cholesterol testing products, the market is likely to broaden further.

"Cholestech is playing a major role in increasing consumer awareness by providing cost-effective disease management solutions," notes Gandhi. "Over the long term, this move is expected to help Cholestech achieve its goal of being a leading provider of diagnostic tools and information for immediate risk assessment and therapeutic monitoring of heart diseases and diabetes."

About Cholestech Corporation

Cholestech is committed to enabling people to lead longer, healthier and more active lives. Cholestech provides easy to use, accessible diagnostic tools and information to health care practitioners in over 35 countries around the world. Cholestech offers efficient and economic diagnostic testing for cholesterol and related lipids, blood glucose and A1C, and liver function at the point of care. Health care providers can use the CLIA-waived Cholestech LDX(R) and GDX(TM) Systems to initiate and monitor the progress of patient therapy. By providing effective disease management solutions, Cholestech's goal is to be a leading provider of diagnostic tools and information for immediate risk assessment and therapeutic monitoring of heart disease and diabetes.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.frost.com.