ADA to Establish New Reimbursement Code for Oral Cancer Screening; Applicable to Zila’s ViziLite and Potentially to OraTest
6/2/2004 Phoenix, AZ BUSINESS WIRE Zila, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZILA) announced today that the Code Revision Committee of the American Dental Association (ADA) has approved a new dental reimbursement code for oral cancer screening products. Zila's ViziLite(R) product provided the pathway for the new code, and Zila anticipates that OraTest(R) will also satisfy the code requirements once its FDA clearance is obtained. Zila said it recently received notice that the Committee approved a code for an "adjunctive pre-diagnostic test that aids in detection of mucosal abnormalities including pre-malignant and malignant lesions, not to include cytology or biopsy." Douglas D. Burkett, Ph.D., Chairman, CEO and President of Zila, Inc., said, "The ADA Committee's action is further evidence that the dental profession recognizes the importance of early detection in the prevention and treatment of oral cancer." Dr. Burkett continued, "There has never been such a reimbursement code available to dentists, because there has never been an FDA approved product for oral pre-cancer and early cancer identification -- until ViziLite. ViziLite's recent clinical efficacy data was cited as a factor in the Committee's decision. We are unaware of any available products, other than ViziLite, that will be covered under this new code. We expect that the code will encourage the use of ViziLite, and we anticipate that this reimbursement code will be available for OraTest when its regulatory approval is achieved." Zila envisions ViziLite and OraTest to be synergistic products that provide a means for all adults to benefit from improved identification of oral pre-cancers [...]