Zimmer Holdings Inc. Receives Approvable Letter For Ceramic Hip Replacement

WARSAW, Ind., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. , a leader in the orthopaedics industry, announced today that it has received an approvable letter from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to the Trilogy AB(R) Ceramic-on-Ceramic Acetabular System. The letter specifies that the Premarket Approval Application (PMA) is approvable subject to an FDA inspection of the Company’s facilities related to the Trilogy AB System. The FDA has not informed Zimmer of the inspection schedule.

“We are excited to take another step toward offering a ceramic-on-ceramic acetabular option in the United States,” said Ray Elliott, Zimmer Holdings Chairman, President and CEO. “The launch is dependent on FDA’s schedule and the resolution of any findings in the inspections, but our hope is that we will be able to begin offering the ceramic-on-ceramic products in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2006.”

The Trilogy AB system is part of the Trilogy(R) Acetabular System, which was initially launched in 1994 and evolved from the successful Harris/Galante and HGP II Cup System designs. According to Zimmer, the Trilogy system is the world’s largest selling family of acetabular products. Estimated 2005 revenue for Trilogy acetabular shells and associated liners is approximately $150 million.

According to Zimmer, the Trilogy AB femoral head and cup liner components are made of alumina ceramic and are designed to provide hard, wear-resistant articulating surfaces. “We are pleased at the prospect of being able to offer the ceramic-on-ceramic option to U.S. customers who prefer Zimmer fiber-metal backed cups and our acetabular instruments,” said Elliott. “This is part of our overall effort to offer a comprehensive range of bearing surfaces, including our industry-leading highly crosslinked polyethylene as well as metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic options.”

Zimmer originally submitted its request for clearance to market the Trilogy AB products in December 2004.

About the Company

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 2004 sales were approximately $3 billion. The Company is supported by the efforts of more than 6,500 employees worldwide.

Visit Zimmer on the worldwide web at http://www.zimmer.com

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 industry, 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 Centerpulse AG and Implex Corp., the outcome of the Department of Justice investigation announced in March 2005 and the pending informal SEC investigation of Centerpulse accounting, 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 the disclosure materials filed by Zimmer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Zimmer disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 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 Holdings, Inc.

CONTACT: Media: Brad Bishop, +1-574-372-4291, bradley.bishop@zimmer.com ,Investors: Marc Ostermann, +1-574-371-8515, marc.ostermann@zimmer.com , orSam Leno, +1-574-372-4790, sam.leno@zimmer.com , all of Zimmer Holdings,Inc.

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