ALACHUA, Fla. and WARSAW, Ind., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tutogen Medical, Inc. , a leading manufacturer of sterile biological implant products made from human (allograft) and animal (xenograft) tissue, and Zimmer Holdings, Inc. , a leader in the orthopaedics industry, today announced the expansion of Tutogen’s partnership with Zimmer Dental Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Zimmer Holdings, Inc., into Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Zimmer Dental currently distributes Tutogen grafts in the United States, Canada and Latin America, under the brand name Puros(R). This enhanced distribution agreement includes both human and bovine tissues -- bone and soft tissue grafts -- and provides the dentist with a complete product package for the regenerative procedure.
Guy Mayer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tutogen Medical, commented, “Our dental products have demonstrated superior clinical results in the U.S. market. We look forward to extending our relationship with Zimmer Dental in globalizing this fast growing product portfolio. Working together we have a demonstrated track record of success in developing the North American market. We believe that joint experience provides a strong foundation to build a significant international business.”
According to David Dvorak, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zimmer Holdings, Inc., Zimmer Dental’s parent company, “We look forward to leveraging the success and experience that we have achieved in the U.S. market with Puros dental products from Tutogen. This is an outstanding international market opportunity for Zimmer Dental as it enables us to continue to define ourselves as an innovator in advanced materials and in state-of-the-art oral rehabilitation technologies.”
The addressable market for Tutogen’s dental products is estimated to be approximately $300 million annually, with the U.S. representing approximately one-half of the total.
About Puros
According to the companies, the Puros family of bone grafting products offers an effective and predictable clinical outcome for patients requiring bony enhancement of the mandible and maxilla in a timely manner. All Puros products feature easy handling, quick hydration, five-year shelf life and room temperature storage.
About Tutogen Medical, Inc.
Tutogen Medical, Inc. manufactures sterile biological implant products made from human (allograft) and animal (xenograft) tissue. Tutogen utilizes its proprietary Tutoplast Process(R) of tissue preservation and viral inactivation to manufacture and deliver sterile bio-implants used in spinal/trauma, urology, dental, ophthalmology, and general surgery procedures. Tutogen’s Tutoplast(R) products are sold and distributed worldwide by Zimmer Spine and Zimmer Dental, subsidiaries of Zimmer Holdings, Inc., Davol Inc. subsidiary of C.R. Bard Inc., the Mentor Corporation (Mentor), Coloplast Corp., IOP, Inc. and through independent distributors internationally. For more information, visit Tutogen’s web site at http://www.tutogen.com.
About Zimmer
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer is the worldwide #1 pure-play orthopaedic leader in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopaedic surgical products. Zimmer has operations in more than 24 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries. Zimmer’s 2006 sales were approximately $3.5 billion. Zimmer is supported by the efforts of more than 7,000 employees worldwide.
Visit Zimmer on the worldwide web at http://www.zimmer.com
About Zimmer Dental Inc.
Zimmer Dental is a global leader in the oral rehabilitation market with a mission to improve the lives of patients through continuous product development and leadership in education. Zimmer Dental offers one of the most comprehensive dental implant product lines available, including the Tapered Screw-Vent(R) Implant System and Puros Allograft family, and provides professionals access to premier education and training resources such as The Zimmer Institute(TM).
Tutogen Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by forward-looking statements. These and other risks are identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006. All information in this press release is as of the date hereof, we undertake no duty to update this information unless required by law.
Zimmer Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics and dental industries, management’s beliefs and assumptions made by management. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “assumes,” “guides,” “targets,” “forecasts,” and “seeks” or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, the outcome of the Department of Justice investigations announced in March 2005 and June 2006, price and product competition, rapid technological development, demographic changes, dependence on new product development, the mix of our products and services, supply and prices of raw materials and products, customer demand for our products and services, control of costs and expenses, our ability to form and implement alliances, international growth, governmental laws and regulations affecting our U.S. and international businesses, including tax obligations and risks, product liability and intellectual property litigation losses, reimbursement levels from third-party payors, general industry and market conditions and growth rates and general domestic and international economic conditions including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be set forth in our periodic reports. Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.
Zimmer contacts: Media Investors Brad Bishop Sean O’Hara James T. Crines 574-372-4291 574-371-8032 574-372-4264 bradley.bishop@zimmer.comsean.f.ohara@zimmer.comjames.crines@zimmer.com Contacts: L. Robert Johnston, Jr. Lytham Partners, LLC Chief Financial Officer Joe Diaz Tutogen Medical, Inc. Joe Dorame 386-462-0402 Robert Blum bjohnston@tutogen.com 602-889-9700
Tutogen Medical, Inc.
CONTACT: L. Robert Johnston, Jr., Chief Financial Officer of TutogenMedical, Inc., +1-386-462-0402, bjohnston@tutogen.com; or Joe Diaz or JoeDorame or Robert Blum, all of Lytham Partners, LLC, +1-602-889-9700, forTutogen Medical, Inc.; or Zimmer Media, Brad Bishop, +1-574-372-4291,bradley.bishop@zimmer.com, or Zimmer Investors, Sean O’Hara,+1-574-371-8032, sean.f.ohara@zimmer.com, or James T. Crines,+1-574-372-4264, james.crines@zimmer.com, all of Zimmer
