Vivos Therapeutics Inc, a maker of oral appliances for breathing-related sleep disorders, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Dubai’s Noum DMCC to bolster its international expansion across the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region.

Noum is focused on diagnostic testing and treatment product distribution for healthcare providers and hospital networks treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients in the MENA region. 

Since 2020, Noum has been the exclusive distributor for SleepImage home sleep tests, complementing Vivos activities as a distributor of SleepImage diagnostic products in the United States and Canada. Noum has developed and maintains strategic relationships and accounts for diagnostic testing with sleep physicians, sleep centers, hospitals, and other healthcare providers across the MENA region, according to a release from Vivos.

Vivos adds in the release that the agreement allows Noum to meet growing demand from its customers for effective treatment alternatives to CPAP. Under the terms of the agreement, Noum has been given exclusive distribution rights for Vivos products and services in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. Noum will immediately seek regulatory approvals in the various countries for Vivos medical devices. 

Noum expects approval times to vary from a few weeks to several months, depending on the country but has scheduled an initial provider training event on Vivos oral appliances and technology for early 2024 in Dubai. The parties expected that Vivos products will eventually be manufactured locally in the region under a future license agreement currently being finalized between Vivos and Noum.

“The demand for clinical alternatives to CPAP in the MENA region has taken off over the past year,” says Nader Sughair, CEO of Noum, in a release. “As more people are being tested for breathing and sleep disorders, a greater number are testing positive, and many cannot or will not tolerate CPAP therapy. We already have over 40 dentists from our region who are anxious to be trained and get started with Vivos, and we are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”

Kirk Huntsman, Chairman and CEO of Vivos, adds in the release, “Our expansion into the MENA region represents yet another important milestone for Vivos. To date we have been more focused on our domestic expansion opportunities in the United States and been less focused on international expansion. However, given Noum’s excellent track record representing SleepImage in the region, we could not pass up this opportunity as we knew that we now had a partner with the resources and expertise to support our expansion into the Middle East region of the globe. We look forward to supporting Noum in their efforts to train and support doctors treating breathing and sleep disorder patients using Vivos products and technology, as well as the revenue opportunities for Vivos from this collaboration.”

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