RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ThermoGenesis Corp. today announced the signing of exclusive distribution agreements for its CE-Marked CryoSeal FS System with Investigacion Bio-tecnologica (IBT SL) for Spain and Portugal and with Interlux Joint-Stock Company, Ltd. for Lithuania and Latvia. These new distribution agreements allow ThermoGenesis to advance its strategy of addressing the $120 million fibrin sealant market in Europe.
IBT SL is one of Spain's largest distributors of products and technologies used for the collection, processing, storage and transport of blood components, to enhance the safety and efficacy of the blood supply.
Interlux, based in Vilnius (Lithuania) is an International Standards Organization (ISO) certified company that markets, sells and services specialty cardiology and surgery disposables, clinical and research laboratory disposables, diagnostics and apheresis equipment and blood banking equipment. They have supplied products throughout Lithuania and Latvia since 1994.
Rudy Huylebroeck, Director of Global Sales and Marketing Hospital/Wound Care Division commented, "ThermoGenesis has decided that the best way to penetrate and expand the fibrin sealant market with our unique technology, which manufactures the fibrin sealant from the patient's own blood, is to sign exclusive distributorships with companies which have excellent relationships with the surgeons and the operating room staff, are very familiar with blood processing and banking and are focused in only one or two countries. In the last seven months, ThermoGenesis has increased its presence in the European fibrin sealant market by seven countries: the Netherlands, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain which is one of the top 5 countries in Europe with regard to market potential."
Because of the volume of fibrin sealant made available with the CryoSeal FS System, physicians both in Japan and Europe have reported finding this product well suited for large bleeding surgical applications such as cardiac, ENT, orthopedic, neurological, and gastrointestinal surgeries. In the United States the 150-patient pivotal clinical trial was completed in non-trauma, non-transplant liver surgeries.
About ThermoGenesis Corp.
ThermoGenesis Corp. is a leader in developing and manufacturing automated blood processing systems and disposables that enable the manufacture, preservation and delivery of cell and tissue therapy products.
-- The BioArchive(R) System, an automated cryogenic device, is used by cord blood stem cell banks in 26 countries for cryopreserving and archiving cord blood stem cell units for transplant. -- The AutoXpress(R) System, is a newly developed semi-automated device and companion sterile closed blood processing disposable, to harvest stem cells from cord blood. -- The CryoSeal FS System, an automated device and companion sterile blood processing disposable, is used to prepare hemostatic and adhesive surgical sealants from the patient's blood in about an hour. Enrollment in a 150 patient U.S. pivotal clinical trial has been completed and a PMA is being reviewed by the FDA. -- The Thrombin Processing Device(TM) (TPD(TM)) is a sterile blood processing disposable that prepares activated thrombin from a small aliquot of patient blood, or blood plasma in less than 30 minutes. The TPD market launch is underway in Europe.
This press release, including statements regarding financial information for future periods, contain forward-looking statements, and such statements are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Several factors, including timing of FDA approvals, changes in customer forecasts, our failure to meet customers' purchase order and quality requirements, supply shortages, production delays, changes in the markets for customers' products, introduction timing and acceptance of our new products scheduled for fiscal year 2006, and introduction of competitive products and other factors beyond our control, could result in a materially different revenue outcome and/or in our failure to achieve the revenue levels we expect for fiscal 2006. A more complete description of these and other risks that could cause actual events to differ from the outcomes predicted by our forward looking statements is set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K and other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, and you should consider each of those factors when evaluating the forward looking statements.
ThermoGenesis Corp.CONTACT: Matthew Plavan of ThermoGenesis Corp., +1-916-858-5100
Web site: http://www.thermogenesis.com//
