ERES East Resources Acquisition Company

eResearchTechnology and Mortara Instrument Enter into a Strategic Alliance to Provide Enhanced Digital ECG Products and Services Agreement to Provide eRT with a Virtual Manufacturing Partner; eRT will Market Proprietary Products to Global Drug Developers PHILADELPHIA, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- eResearchTechnology, Inc. (eRT), (NASDAQ:ERES), a leading provider of centralized electrocardiographic (ECG) collection and interpretation services, announced today a strategic agreement with Mortara Instrument, Inc., a leading provider of ECG technologies and architect of the E-Scribe ECG Warehouse designed for the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The agreement includes production of an eRT branded digital ECG collection device, appoints eRT as the exclusive ECG core laboratory reseller of Mortara's E-Scribe ECG Warehouse Services, and designates eRT an authorized reseller of Mortara collection devices to the global drug development industry. Key details of this comprehensive agreement include: -- Production of an eRT private label digital ECG collection device based on the new Mortara ELI 150 Rx 12-lead resting ECG technology platform. eRT will be first to market with an ELI 150 Rx-based solution, which features an advanced design optimized for clinical research. The agreement provides a mechanism for close design and engineering collaboration between eRT and Mortara to drive ongoing improvements to the eRT private label digital ECG collection platform, including tight integration with eRT's EXPeRT(R) workflow enabled data handling technology, the first solution in production that was designed explicitly to meet emerging international regulatory guidance and technical standards. The eRT private label line will be available in the fourth quarter. -- Designation of eRT as an authorized reseller of Mortara digital ECG collection devices to the global drug development industry. eRT will serve as a fulfillment channel for demand from the global drug development community to purchase or rent Mortara digital ECG collection devices. In addition, eRT will work with sponsors that have selected eRT to perform ECG core laboratory services and prefer to purchase digital ECG collection devices from eRT as opposed to renting units on a trial-by-trial basis. eRT will offer equipment purchasers its industry leading site support and logistics services, including dedicated warehouse and repair/replacement services. -- Designation of eRT as the exclusive ECG core laboratory reseller of Mortara's E-Scribe ECG Warehouse Services. With the addition of Mortara's E-Scribe ECG Warehouse Services, eRT will be able to offer drug developers full lifecycle solutions that include the ability for sponsors to view and manage annotated ECGs as well as to proactively review ECG waveforms for significant outliers utilizing the Mortara toolset designed specifically for the FDA review process. The identification of outliers will be made by scoring algorithms developed by Mortara under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the FDA executed in June 2004 to create the digital ECG warehouse. "This landmark agreement brings several sustainable competitive advantages to eRT and its customers that will drive better outcomes for cardiac safety services in new drug development and reinforces eRT's global industry leadership in technology, capability and capacity to meet growing demand," said Scott Grisanti, senior vice president of business development and chief marketing officer at eRT. "First, availability of an eRT branded digital ECG collection device will allow eRT to enjoy scale economies that support our ongoing strategy to deliver best value to our customers and continuously raise the bar for service through tighter integration between digital ECG collection and eRT's EXPeRT(R) processing platform. Second, the authorized reseller arrangement allows eRT to assist drug developers to implement new strategies that institutionalize digital ECG collection and central processing across all phases of clinical research. "Further, being named exclusive ECG core laboratory reseller of the Mortara E-Scribe ECG Warehouse will ensure that this cutting edge solution delivers optimal market value by leveraging the global reach of eRT's consultative business development organization. Also, the reseller arrangement builds on earlier collaboration between eRT, Mortara, and A.M.P.S., LLC (AMPS) on the development of the standard, annotated digital ECG submission format used as the foundation of the Warehouse. Executives from eRT, Mortara and AMPS were recognized for their collaboration on the digital ECG waveform standard with an FDA Commissioner's Special Citation in 2003." Dr. Justin L. Mortara, vice president of Mortara Instrument commented, "This strategic agreement between eRT and Mortara offers substantial value to the drug development community by combining Mortara's leadership in the design and delivery of the premier digital ECG collection platform for use in clinical research with eRT's global reach and market presence. The agreement demonstrates Mortara's understanding of the unique requirements of ECG central laboratories and a willingness to develop solutions for their specific needs. It also establishes a foundation for collaborative research and development between the organizations that will allow ongoing optimization of Mortara's technology by channeling feedback from eRT's unmatched experience and customer base in the clinical trials arena. eRT's role as the E-Scribe ECG Warehouse reseller will complement Mortara's direct ECG Warehouse service offering and allow the industry to derive maximum benefit in choosing digital ECG technologies to expedite the new drug candidate review and approval process." Based in Philadelphia, PA, eResearchTechnology, Inc. (http://www.ert.com/) is a provider of technology and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries on a global basis. The company is a market leader in providing centralized core-diagnostic electrocardiographic (ECG) technology and services to evaluate cardiac safety in clinical development. The company is also a leader in providing technology and services to streamline the clinical trials process by enabling its customers to automate the collection, analysis, and distribution of clinical data in all phases of clinical development. Based in Milwaukee, WI, Mortara Instrument, Inc. is distinguished in the field of non-invasive cardiology for innovations that are the core of the company's complete line of ECG products including electrocardiographs, stress exercise systems, Holter systems, data warehousing solutions, and cardiology monitoring systems. The company's website is http://www.mortara.com/. Statements included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as competitive factors, technological development and market demand. As a result, actual results may differ materially from any financial outlooks stated herein. Further information on potential factors that could affect the company's financial results can be found in the company's Reports on Forms 10- K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: eResearchTechnology, Inc. CONTACT: Joan Sterlacci, eResearchTechnology, Inc., +1-908-203-6473, or Matt Hayden, Hayden Communications, +1-858-704-5065, for eResearchTechnology Web site: http://www.mortara.com/ Web site: http://www.ert.com/

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