Aventor, a New Global Consulting Firm With Indiana Roots is Launched in Rapidly Growing Health Technology Field.

Business Editors, Health/Medical Writers

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 21, 2001

Aventor, with offices in Indianapolis and other cities around the

world, counts The Anson Group among its founders, Baker & Daniels

among its investors

A global consulting firm with Indiana roots was launched today to provide health technology companies with integrated, single-source solutions to regulatory, economic, and public policy issues.

The new firm, Aventor, with offices in Indianapolis and other cities around the world, includes a local company among its founders and a local law firm among its investors.

"Aventor is a new category of consultancy formed to anticipate issues arising from aging populations -- and growing health needs -- of major nations across the globe," notes Gerald A. Richardson, the company's Practice Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Anson Group, an Indianapolis firm that now operates as part of Aventor. "The services that innovative companies need no longer stop at one government agency or even one government; they run from the conception of an idea, through product launch, through commercial acceptance in the global marketplace."

Adds Brian K. Burke, managing partner of Baker & Daniels, an Indiana and Washington D.C.-based law firm and Aventor investor, "Everything we see suggests that Aventor is the right company at the right time. Our clients increasingly request health consulting to complement the legal services provided by the Baker & Daniels global medical technology practice. Aventor allows delivery of services through integrated packages that address the full spectrum of needs."

Aventor's services range from assisting with clinical research; to securing government approvals for market access and insurance funding; to shaping the public-policy and political environments. Aventor's regulatory services include filing applications with FDA and international bodies, designing clinical trials, and conducting quality-systems audits. In the reimbursement area, the firm carries out such tasks as preparing market analyses, submitting coding requests, and organizing patient-advocacy campaigns. Aventor's government-affairs and coalition-building services are provided in Washington, DC, and other capitals in Europe and Asia.

"Medical technology companies increasingly think, plan, and operate globally," points out Ann M. Gosier, Vice President - Government Affairs, of Guidant Corporation, headquartered in Indianapolis and a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular medical products. "Guidant sells its products throughout the world, and that requires us to address multiple policy issues in multiple environments. The future is about managing all the different pieces in a coherent and seamless way."

Though Aventor's work spans the major regions of the world, it also cuts across key areas here at home.

The current debate in Congress about Medicare reform is one that a Batesville-headquartered company, health care solutions provider Hill-Rom, is watching closely, according to Thomas Jeffers, Director of Government Relations. "This would be the most fundamental change to Medicare since 1965, and the issues are very complex. At the same time, on a different track, Congress is reviewing key provisions of the law under which the Food and Drug Administration approves innovative new medical devices for patients. So the current public-policy environment is both challenging and multi-faceted."

"Paying the health costs of America's aging population raises hard questions for many constituencies and stakeholders," says Carol I. Warnecke, Director of Reimbursement Affairs for Roche Diagnostics, an Indianapolis-based developer of products and services for diagnosing disease. Warnecke, a senior manager at a health insurance company before joining Roche, notes that, "Today, medical technology companies need to understand both the technical rules of insurance reimbursement, as well as the national policies that can change those rules overnight. The venues literally range from insurance company claims offices to the halls of Congress."

In addition to Indianapolis, Aventor provides integrated services through offices in Washington, D.C., Rome, London, Berlin, and Qingdao, P.R. China.

For more information, please visit www.aventor.com.