CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- High manufacturer pricing for most branded diabetic testing products and the recent reduction in insurance reimbursement rates have coupled to reduce retailer and provider margins.  To provide retailers serving the more than 25 million Americans with diabetes with a new solution, UniStrip Technologies introduces its first generic blood glucose test strip for use in LifeScan's® OneTouch® Ultra family of meters.

Developed and tested over a period of years, and recently cleared by the FDA for use with four OneTouch® Ultra meters, the UniStrip1™ Test Strips provide retailers with an opportunity to expand their product line to people with diabetes who want a highly accurate test strip at an affordable price. Additionally, the new product offers retailers the ability to increase their margin in a product category while saving money for their patients. 

"Research shows that people with diabetes test less than their doctors recommend because of the high cost of test strips," said Rick Admani, President of UniStrip Technologies. "This is important since the average person with diabetes spends about eight times more per year on medications and medical supplies than people without diabetes. This includes about $2,000 to $2,500 per year on diabetes products and an additional equal amount on non-diabetes products."

UniStrip1™ gives diabetics the opportunity to comply with their doctor's orders without breaking their banks while driving them to their local pharmacy for new and secondary sales. Retailers and providers don't have to get a new meter for patients because the UniStrip1 test strip is compatible with the LifeScan® OneTouch® Ultra®, Ultra®2, UltraSmart® and UltraMini® meters.

Say Admani, "We created UniStrip1™ to fill a giant unmet need in our healthcare system. Our test strips are highly accurate, and cleared by the FDA to use with the LifeScan® OneTouch® Ultra meters that the patients already have. People with diabetes can test at the levels they're supposed to, and do so affordably.  

"In the end, the patient, retailer, insurer and home health provider win with our UniStrip1™."

Cost

Admani believes that many retailers will offer the UniStrip1™ Test Strip for sale at less than $15 SRP for a 50 count vial.  As one example of the market opportunity for the UniStrip1™ Test Strip, patients who have a $15 or $20 copay may opt to pay cash for the UniStrip1™ as it's the better value. 

One other advantage of UniStrip's offering that Admani points to is the much lower acquisition cost to the retailer.  The published acquisition cost of most of the branded test strips is about eight to ten times the acquisition cost of UniStrip1™. 

"Retailers and providers don't have to pay $50 or $60 per vial, collect a copay, collect an insurance payment, and also possibly have to wait for a manufacturer discount or rebate.  They can purchase UniStrip1™ and sell it at a profit without the investment and cost of the rebate system.  We have simplified the process and put more money in the retailer's pocket without a large acquisition cost and a long waiting period."

Clinical Study Results On Accuracy and Precision

UniStrip1™ met all FDA standards in a clinical study that compared UniStrip1™ Test Strips against the worldwide standard for blood glucose testing, when used with the LifeScan® OneTouch® Ultra®, Ultra®2, UltraSmart® and UltraMini® meters.

About UniStrip Technologies

Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, UniStrip Technologies, LLC is a high-tech glucose test strip company that distributes products under the UniStrip brand.  The company is led by Rick Admani and an executive management team with more than 20 years of healthcare experience.  All of the UniStrip test strips are manufactured by a state of the art research & development manufacturing partner, OK Biotech Co., Ltd of Taiwan, an established diabetes supply manufacturer with $70 million in assets and capacity to produce 90 million vials of test strips annually. For more information, please visit www.unistrip-tech.com.

UniStrip1™ test strips are a product of UniStrip Technologies, LLC and are not manufactured, distributed, endorsed, approved by, nor associated with LifeScan®, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson® Company, manufacturers and distributors of the OneTouch® Ultra® Family of Meters and OneTouch® Ultra® test strips.

SOURCE UniStrip Technologies