AST Products, Inc. Forms a Licensing Agreement with Occam International BV; AST's Growth Spree Continues.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2002

AST Products, Inc. (AST), a world leader in water-based coatings for medical devices, announced today the completion of a licensing agreement with Occam International BV of Europe. This marks the 7th licensing agreement year to date for AST.

The agreement is a worldwide non-exclusive licensing for AST's LubriLAST(TM) coatings on Occam's vascular balloon catheters, Vigor(TM), for percutaneous transluminal cardio angioplasty (PTCA). AST's LubriLAST(TM) coating, a lubricious coating that is part of AST's BioLAST(TM) medical coating technology platform, will give the catheter more lubricity for easier insertion and thus will help ensure the success of the procedure.

Occam International B.V. develops, manufactures, and sells PTCA angioplasty catheters, Stent Delivery Systems and PTCA-related accessories. Prior to forming a partnership with AST, Occam had been working with another well-known medical coating company. However, it chose to partner with AST. In addition to providing close support during regulatory submissions, AST offered Occam a unique water based coating technology that was easier to use and more cost effective in comparison to the original technology.

"Partnering with Occam International is quite exciting in that it offers us the chance to really improve patient care by eliminating some of the risks involved with cardio vascular balloon catheter insertions. We pride ourselves on our solid partnerships with clients," said AST's president, Dr. Ih-Houng Loh. "We aim to give our clients the best quality medical coating available on the market and to assist them in any development issues."

AST Products, Inc. (AST) headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts offers water-based, solvent free coatings for medical devices. Since 1989, AST has partnered with numerous companies through licensing agreements for its BioLAST(TM) medical coating technology. AST has a strong history in advanced research and development with an emphasis on providing customized, innovative coating solutions. The company also provides state-of-the-art tools for processing and measurement and coatings and surface modification technology for industrial applications, processing equipment and services and surface analysis instruments. AST licenses its coating technologies on both an exclusive and non-exclusive basis. For more information about AST Products please visit their website at www.astp.com.

Vigor(TM) is trade mark of Occam International BV. BioLAST(TM) and LubriLAST(TM) are trademarks of AST Products, Inc.