Millimed AB And Blue Medical Refocus Their Drug-Eluting Device Operations As Separate Stand Alone Entities

ROSKILDE, Denmark and HELMOND, the Netherlands, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Bob Mitchell, CEO of Millimed and Ronald Horvers, CEO of Blue Medical announced today that they have finalized a strategy that will realign their core businesses and will operate as stand alone entities. All commercial activities related to coronary stent and balloon development and production, as well as sales and marketing functions will continue as a separate entity under the name Blue Medical, headquartered in Helmond, The Netherlands. Roskilde Denmark will continue to be the WW headquarters of Millimed with a strong focus on nitric oxide based development programs. Millimed is also expanding their expertise in developing novel polymers and other biomaterials as molecular carriers to be used in the creation of advanced drug-elution systems from medical devices.

Millimed Holding, Inc. was founded in 2003 to develop innovative treatment solutions for vascular disease and endothelial management. The company has developed and is currently testing next generation alternatives for use in site-specific drug elution. Millimed will leverage its strong IP portfolio surrounding nitric oxide elution and develop nanospun coatings in conjunction with these various drug elution mechanisms.

Founded in 1998, Blue Medical will continue to run sales and marketing operations and the development and manufacturing of coronary stents, PTCA catheters and next generation coronary drug eluting stent (DES) platforms. Blue Medical has a pipeline of new coronary stents, novel PTCA catheters to be launched within the next six months, and ongoing Melatonin-eluting stent trials.

The development of DES technology has grown rapidly since it became the standard of care for treating coronary blockages in the US and in Europe. Latest clinical research findings indicate that DES significantly reduces the incidence of restenosis, a renarrowing of the widened coronary segment within about six months of the procedure. DES have substantially contributed to the expansion of the stent market since its inception and worldwide sales now exceed $5 billion with major players such as Boston Scientific and Johnson& Johnson with DES currently on the market. New US market entries are expected by Guidant Corp, Medtronic Inc, Abbott Laboratories and Conor Medsystems Inc. Recently raised issues of late stage in-stent thrombosis and restenosis point to the need for ongoing development of both therapeutic compounds and delivery systems which will continue to improve the performance of DES in a variety of vascular applications.

"Refocusing our core businesses into two separate entities will enable both companies to concentrate all their resources toward core R&D projects," says Bob Mitchell, CEO of Millimed. "Millimed's novel coating and nitric oxide eluting systems for increased vascular healing has unlimited potential. We are working in partnership with device producers all over the world over to fully leverage this technology." The new structure will also allow Blue Medical to re-focus on their area of expertise in interventional cardiology. "I look forward to a healthy relationship between both companies as we move forward and build on our core competencies. With Blue Medical's strong position in interventional cardiology worldwide, we look forward to continue the sales and marketing business in a new consolidated format," said Ronald Horvers, CEO of Blue Medical. Blue Medical's Helmond based R&D department will continue to focus on the development of the MELISSA drug eluting stent system, currently in human trials. As a stand alone privately owned entity, Blue Medical is now able to better execute its strategy of creating a strong IP portfolio that will cover the latest drug eluting medical devices coupled with its novel drug applications and proprietary bioabsorbable polymers. The company will also continue to support Millimed on the device side of their novel nitric oxide development programs.

Contacts: For Millimed Robert D. Mitchell Bob.Mitchell@millimed.com +45 (0)46-76 14 20 http://www.millimed.com For Blue Medical Ronald A.M. Horvers ronald.horvers@bluemedical.com Tel: +31(0)492-588900 http://www.bluemedical.com

Millimed; Blue Medical

CONTACT: Robert D. Mitchell of Millimed, +45 (0)46-76 14 20,Bob.Mitchell@millimed.com; or Ronald A.M. Horvers of Blue Medical,+31(0)492-588900, ronald.horvers@bluemedical.com

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