Purchase, NY, September 22, 2004 – Nutrition 21, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXXI) – Initial results of an economic analysis conducted by Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Health Policy at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA, indicate that use of Diachrome® as an adjunct nutritional therapy for people with type 2 diabetes, could offer significant healthcare cost savings.   The preliminary report evaluated a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that Diachrome, a patented combination of Chromax® chromium picolinate and biotin, can significantly reduce blood sugar levels (when measured as HbA1c) in people with type 2 diabetes.
The analysis correlated these findings with the growing healthcare costs associated with treating diabetes, and concluded:
• Patients with diabetes could save between $405 and $729 annually in treatment costs by using Diachrome (based on previous study results). 
• Those savings would double for patients with diabetes and heart disease, and triple for patients with diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. 
• A patient obtaining a 1.8 percentage point decrease in HbA1c, a measure of long-term blood sugar control, could save $36,000 inflation adjusted lifetime costs.
• For patients with a decrease in HbA1c from 9.3 to 7.5%, the average three-year cost savings could range from $729 for patients with diabetes only, to $2,270 for patients with diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.
“Given the chronic nature and the devastating economic impact of type 2 diabetes, it is important to use the most cost-effective measures to help improve glycemic control in people living with the disease,” said David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Jefferson Medical College, Department of Health Policy, who conducted the economic analysis.  “Initial clinical study results in people with type 2 diabetes show that Diachrome can improve glycemic control in as little as thirty days, and 90 day trial results show a significant reduction in HbA1c.”

“These outcomes compare favorably to prescription medications, but at much lower cost and with no contraindications,” commented Gail Montgomery, President and CEO of Nutrition 21.  “We are now conducting a large-scale multi-center trial to further confirm Diachrome’s positive impact on blood sugar control.”
“In parallel, we have commissioned Dr. Nash’s team to evaluate the potential healthcare savings associated with its use as a nutritional adjunct to diabetes treatment,” added Montgomery.   “We look forward with confidence to reporting on these findings in the coming year.”

Blood Sugar Control is Key to Diabetes Management
Type 2 diabetes affects 18.2 million people in the U.S., and its prevalence continues to increase.  When diabetes is uncontrolled, it leads to serious complications including retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and cardiovascular disease. The economic burden of diabetes was estimated at $132 billion in 2002, including direct medical expenditures and the costs of lost productivity.  From 1997 to 2002, the per capita annual costs of diabetes rose 30%. 
Findings from the 1993 Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) indicate that a low cost intervention that decreases HbA1c could be beneficial to patients, third party payers and society as a whole.

About Nutrition 21
Nutrition 21 is a biosciences company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of innovative chromium-based nutrition products for improved health maintenance, and for the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, depression and cardiovascular disease.  Nutrition 21 holds 36 patents for nutrition products, 22 of which are for chromium compounds and their uses.  Nutrition 21’s Chromax® chromium picolinate is a form of the essential mineral chromium developed by the USDA and licensed to the Company.  It is used as an ingredient in many nutritional supplements. For more information, visit www.nutrition21.com or www.diachrome.com or call 1-866-DIACHROME.

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Source:
Nutrition 21, Inc.

Contact:
Stacey Antine, MS, RD
Telephone: 914-701-4567