ALR Technologies Inc has signed a sales, marketing and distribution agreement with MedCap Inc to represent the ALRT product line in Europe, parts of Asia and South America and the mid-Atlantic area of the United States.

MedCap, based in Charlotte, N.C., is a medical supply company that provides high-tech and high-end equipment to medical institutions and medical research centers.

MedCap has working relationships with many of the best-known and respected medical institutions and medical research centers in America and also has business relationships with key medical services companies and distributors in Europe and countries in Asia and South America.

"We are pleased to add MedCap to our growing sales network and to bring in the expertise necessary for international expansion even sooner than we had planned," said Stan Cruitt, President of ALR Technologies. "We already have received numerous requests for Med Reminders from medical providers in Europe and wanted to bring onboard a trusted working partner to help market our products internationally."

Howard Nicholson, President of MedCap, said that the media coverage of ALR Technologies has generated caught his eye.

"Reading about ALR Technologies prompted us to check out the medication reminder products the company provides," Nicholson said. "The need for improved compliance in medication is well understood among healthcare professionals but efforts to improve compliance among the general public have been ineffective thus far."

ALR Technologies points to healthcare industry data that supports the need for improving medication compliance. More than 100 million people in the United States alone take medications for chronic conditions; however, nearly 50 percent of them do not take medications as prescribed by a physician.

Numerous studies in recent years have strongly indicated that medication noncompliance -- not taking medicine on time, as prescribed -- is the reason for 10 percent of all hospitalizations, more than 125,000 deaths annually in the cardiovascular area alone, and more than $100 billion in excess healthcare costs annually.

The ALRT Med Reminder product line is designed to be easy to use and reliable in reminding people with an audio "beeping" and visual cue to take their medications on time.