AorTech International plc
BIOWIRE2K
April 29, 2005 02:00 AM US Eastern Timezone

Implant Patient Worries Over Office Anesthesia Relieved by Educational Brochure From AANA

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2005--'AorTech's Elast-Eon breast implant technology introduced at the annual meeting of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons'

AorTech International plc is pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Jewell, the incoming President of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons ("ASAPS"), and Dr. Leroy Young, the Chairman of the Society's New Technology Committee, will today be making presentations regarding AorTech's breast implant technology at the Society's Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana (USA).

These presentations will discuss the advantages of Elast-Eon saline and gel filled breast implants over current generation technology and will be made as part of the "Hot Topics" segment of the Society Meeting.

In the opinion of the Directors of AorTech, based on laboratory tests to date, the advantages of adopting Elast-Eon in breast implant devices include:

• Significant reductions in "bleed" or extractable components
• No use of metals or other catalysts
• 50x improvement in shell barrier properties
• Twice the tear resistance of silicone shells
• Superior mechanical properties, including abrasion resistance
• Fatigue resistance testing in excess of 2 billion cycles
• A wide range of gel elasticity and softness with excellent cohesion and form-stable properties
• Improved radio transparency
• Smooth or textured surfaces -- High consistency manufacturing
• Biostability comparable to silicone
• Revolutionary new device manufacturing process

All of which contribute to improved product safety, long term durability, and patient acceptance of these devices.

Elast-Eon is a biostable copolymer which adopts both the mechanical and biocompatible advantages of polyurethane and silicone. In laboratory tests, the material shows significantly enhanced mechanical, wear and tear performance which makes the application to breast implant devices highly compelling. Elast-Eon is the result of over 10 years of basic research in high-performance, biostable polymer technology. Other active applications programs for this material include heart valves, spinal disc implants, pacing leads and coronary stents.

The Elast-Eon breast implant development program was commenced in January of 2004 and is in the pre-clinical phase.

AorTech's is actively seeking a substantial industry partner with the resources and expertise to support the clinical trials and subsequently undertake the global marketing of these products.

The presentations will be available on the AorTech International plc website, www.aortech.com.

Commenting on the presentations Frank Maguire, AorTech's Chief Executive, said:

"The support of Drs. Jewell and Young for our Elast-Eon breast implant technology demonstrates the potential for these devices.

"Having attended the recent FDA Advisory Panel meeting which discussed the current issues surrounding breast implant technology, I am confident that AorTech's breast implants can make specific and major improvements to product safety and patient acceptance."

In addition, Dr. Mark Jewell commented,

"The Elast-Eon polymer appears quite promising in the development of 5th generation breast implants that will benefit patients by providing devices made with advanced biomaterials."