Natus Medical Signs Five-Year Distribution Agreement with GN Otometric

    Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

    SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2005--Natus Medical Incorporated ("Natus") (Nasdaq:BABY) today announced the signing of a new five-year marketing and distribution agreement with GN Otometrics, a subsidiary of GN Store Nord A/S (Copenhagen: GN.CO).
    Under this agreement, GN Otometrics will market and distribute Natus' newly acquired line of hearing screening devices from the Company's recent acquisition of Fischer-Zoth Diagnosesysteme, GmbH. This product line will be marketed in over 50 countries under the AccuScreen(R) brand name. In addition, GN Otometrics will distribute Natus' well-known line of ALGO(R) Newborn Hearing Screeners in selected countries.
    Jim Hawkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Natus commented, "We are very pleased to begin our new relationship with GN Otometrics, a leading provider of products and services to audiologists and ENT professionals. We believe that this partnership will contribute to continued growth of international sales for our hearing screening products."
    Soren Holst, President of GN Otometrics added, "We are also pleased to partner with Natus Medical. With our extensive product portfolio and Natus' long-term commitment to newborn hearing screening, we believe that our customers will benefit significantly."

    About GN Otometrics

    GN Otometrics, a subsidiary of GN Store Nord, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of hearing and balance assessment instrumentation and software products. GN Otometrics' product portfolio ranges from infant screening applications, audiologic diagnostics and office management software, to balance testing and hearing instrument fitting. Located in Taastrup, Denmark, GN Otometrics markets its products in over 50 countries. Additional information about GN Otometrics can be found at www.gn.com.

    About Natus

    Natus develops, manufactures, and markets products for the detection, treatment, monitoring, and tracking of common disorders in newborns. Natus products are marketed under well-recognized brand names such as ALGO(R), Neometrics(TM), Echo-Screen(R), and neoBLUE(TM). Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Natus markets and sells its products worldwide through a direct sales force in the U.S. and the U.K., and through distributors in over 50 other countries. Additional information about Natus Medical can be found at www.natus.com.

    This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding future growth in international sales and the expected benefits and market penetration of the AccuScreen and ALGO devices. These statements relate to future events or Natus' financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Natus' actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you will be able to identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believes," "can," "may," "very," "will," "expects," "potential," "continue," "grow," "benefit," "significantly," "strong," "leading," "joining," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and the actual events or results may differ materially. Natus cannot provide any assurance that its future results will meet expectations. Natus' operating results could differ materially from these statements due to a number of factors, including the continued growth of demand for and acceptance of Natus' products, competition from other companies selling newborn hearing screening, newborn jaundice management products and data management software products and the failure of third party payors to provide adequate reimbursement for the use of Natus' products or services.

    For additional information and considerations regarding the risks faced by Natus, see its periodic reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed and to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Natus disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement.

    Natus(R), AABR(R), ALGO(R), ALGO 1e(R), ALGO 2(R), ALGO DataBook(R), 70/40(R), Cochlea-Scan(R), Echo-Screen(R), Ear Couplers(R), Flexicoupler(R), Jelly Tab(R), Jelly Button(R), and MiniMuffs(R) are registered trademarks of Natus. Convert2Natus(TM), DataLink(TM), neoBLUE(TM), Natus Elite(TM), neoBLUE mini(TM), Neometrics(TM), Metabolic Screening Database System (MSDS)(TM), Case Management System (CMS)(TM), Voice Response System (VRS)(TM), Web Electronic Birth Page (Web-EBP)(TM), Accuscreen(TM) and Accuwell(TM) are non-registered trademarks of Natus. Solutions for Newborn Care(SM) is a non-registered service mark of Natus. Audio-System(TM) and Echo-Screen(R) are trademarks of Fischer-Zoth Diagnosesysteme GmbH, a subsidiary of Natus. AccuScreen(R) is a registered trademark of GN Otometrics.

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CONTACT: Natus Medical Inc. Steven Murphy, 650-802-0400 www.natus.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA DENMARK INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MEDICAL DEVICES MEDICAL MARKETING AGREEMENTS SOURCE: Natus Medical Inc.

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