Philips And Immunetrics Join Forces To Research Advanced Solutions For Infectious Disease In Critical Care

Nashville, Tenn., USA — Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) and Immunetrics Inc. today announced they have entered into a joint development agreement to explore future-generation approaches to the problem of infectious disease in critical care. This announcement was made at the annual Congress of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, taking place January 31 Ð February 4 in Nashville, Tenn. Philips currently owns a 29% stake in Immunetrics, a biosimulation company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

The partnership unites Philips’ strength in patient monitoring and the design and implementation of applications to help clinicians make more informed care decisions, and ImmunetricsÕ strengths in the dynamic modeling and simulation of complex biological systems. Under the joint development agreement, Philips Research and Immunetrics will study the combination of advanced bioinformatics and computer modeling to identify opportunities to reduce the incidence and improve the management of systemic infection, a major complicating factor among many critically ill patients.

Critical care is a branch of medicine that involves the specialized treatment of patients with acute, life-threatening illness or injury. It is an area of persistent unmet need and significant consumption of healthcare resources. For example, critical care expense in the USA represents the equivalent of nearly one percent of its gross domestic product.

Sepsis, a life-threatening, systemic inflammatory response to infection, is an example of a key medical challenge for which Philips Research and Immunetrics seek to develop new mechanisms for early and effective intervention. In the USA and Europe sepsis afflicts more than two million people each year and incidence of the condition is growing. Despite the best currently available treatment, approximately one in every three patients with severe sepsis will die.

“The management of the condition of critical care patients involves the monitoring and control of a multitude of parameters, a field in which Philips has a leading position. Yet, we see patient outcomes that are frequently unpredictable and sub-optimal,” said Henk van Houten, senior vice president of Philips Research and head of its Healthcare Research program. “Through our collaboration with Immunetrics, a leader in computational modeling of pathophysiology and treatment, we will broaden our portfolio of research approaches directed to assessing infection risk and optimizing intervention, with the goal of improving the quality of care and reducing the mortality of critically ill patients.”

“Immunetrics is excited to team with Philips Research and its significant technology resources with the goal of advancing patient care across the acute care setting,” said Steven Chang, president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Immunetrics. “This collaboration recognizes the potential of bioinformatics and computational modeling in providing breakthrough solutions to enable clinicians to improve the assessment, care and outcomes of patients.”

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 121,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 26 billion in 2008, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

Immunetrics is a biosimulation company, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, that creates custom computational models of biological systems to accelerate the development of drugs and diagnostics. Using a proprietary platform, Immunetrics rapidly develops and validates models for identifying biomarkers and testing the effects of medical intervention at the molecular, cellular, organ, organism, and population levels, including the design of clinical trials. Immunetrics was founded in 2002 by LaunchCyte LLC and has been funded by Innovation Works, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, and other investors. www.immunetrics.com