Hamilton Thorne, Inc. Showcases Two New Products for Fertility Clinics at ESHRE 2012

BEVERLY, MA and TORONTO--(Marketwire - June 29, 2012) -

Hamilton Thorne Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: HTL), a leading provider of precision laser devices and advanced image analysis systems for the fertility, stem cell and developmental biology research markets, today announced that the Company will be showcasing two of its premier clinical products at the 28th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) taking place in Istanbul, Turkey from July 1-4, 2012. Hamilton Thorne will be demonstrating its new IMSI-Strict™ imaging and analysis software and the FDA cleared and CE marked Multi-Pulse software at the Company’s ESHRE booth # B19.

During the conference, Hamilton Thorne will announce the official commercial launch of its much anticipated IMSI-Strict™ imaging and analysis software. IMSI-Strict™ is the only automated software solution for live sperm morphology analysis under high magnification. IMSI-Strict™ combines Tygerberg Strict Criteria with motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) and provides software-based categorization using head size, head shape, mid-piece, and number of vacuoles. Using these analyzed parameters, sperm are assigned to one of three easy-to-determine categories: normal, sub-normal or abnormal.

Benefits of IMSI-Strict™ Software:

• Real-time morphology on live motile cells
• Provides objective classification of sperm and removes inter-technician variation
• Enables fast analysis with immediate results, minimizing the time from sample preparation to ICSI procedure
• Allows standardization of user-selected sperm for ICSI
• Requires no manual measurements of sperm
• Features saved videos and snapshots for quality control and archiving

The Company will also highlight its Multi-Pulse software that recently received FDA clearance and a CE mark for performing embryo biopsy in clinical settings. The Multi-Pulse software comes standard with Hamilton Thorne’s LYKOS® clinical laser system, and provides rapid, repeated firing of the laser to facilitate removal of cells from an embryo during the trophectoderm biopsy process. Trophectoderm biopsy is considered one of the best methods used to remove cells from the embryos of patients undergoing pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to screen for genetic disease or aneuploidy. The significant advantage of Multi-Pulse is that one press of the remote footswitch initiates multiple laser pulses in rapid succession for fast and easy cell separation, thereby limiting the amount of time the embryo spends outside the incubator.

“We are proud to officially launch the commercial availability of our IMSI Strict™ image and analysis system, the Company’s best-in-class sperm morphology analysis product, as well as showcase our new Multi-Pulse software during this renowned fertility conference,” said David Wolf, President and Chief Executive Office of Hamilton Thorne, Ltd. “With both Hamilton Thorne products on the market, we are providing clinicians with advanced and precise tools to dramatically increase successful fertility outcomes and enable important clinical procedures such as embryo biopsy.”

Currently available in Europe for clinical procedures, IMSI-Strict™ is only available in the United States for research use, and not to be used for diagnostic purposes. In addition to IMSI-Strict™ and Multi-Pulse, Hamilton Thorne will be displaying the entire clinical laser product line at ESHRE, including our new LYKOS® laser system. To view Hamilton Thorne’s premier fertility products that will be on display at ESHRE, please click on this link for a highlights video: http://youtu.be/JqsQCIk8osA.

About Hamilton Thorne Ltd. (www.hamiltonthorne.com)

Hamilton Thorne designs, manufactures and distributes precision laser devices and advanced imaging systems for the fertility, stem cell and development biology research markets. It provides novel solutions for Life Science that reduce cost, increase productivity, improve results and enable research breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, stem cell research and fertility markets. Hamilton Thorne’s laser products attach to standard inverted microscopes and operate as robotic micro-surgeons, enabling a wide array of scientific applications and IVF procedures. Its imaging systems improve outcomes in human IVF clinics and animal breeding facilities and provide high-end toxicology analyses.

Hamilton Thorne’s growing customer base includes pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, fertility clinics, university research centers, and other commercial and academic research establishments worldwide. Current customers include world-leading research labs such as Harvard, MIT, Yale, McGill, DuPont, Monsanto, Charles River Labs, Jackson Labs, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, and Oxford and Cambridge.

Neither the Toronto Venture Exchange, nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the exchange), accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in filings by the Company with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.

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Technorati: stem cell stem cell research regenerative medicine advanced cell biology fertility lasers IVF