Avocet Medical, Inc. Receives IVDD CE Mark.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 22, 2001

Avocet Medical, Inc. announced today that TUV Rheinland has issued to them the CE Mark certificate under the European Union's In Vitro Diagnostics Directive for its AvoSure(TM) PT System for consumer prothrombin time self-testing. TUV Rheinland has confirmed that Avocet Medical, Inc. is the first United States company to receive the IVD Directive CE Mark from them.

The AvoSure PT, designed for patient self-testing, offers added assurance to patients and their physicians by identifying patients out of the therapeutic range quickly as a result of more frequent testing. The AvoSure PT enables this more frequent testing by expanding patient's access to testing in their homes or while traveling. "We are delighted by this timely certification," said Matthew Collier, President and CEO of Avocet Medical. "This certification demonstrates our dedication to providing our customers with the highest quality products and services. The CE Mark and ISO 9001 certification were important corporate objectives for 2000."

Certification organizations have only been officially recognized as notified bodies under the European Union's IVD Directive since October 2000. The European Union calls for these notified bodies to audit all but the low risk products covered by the IVD Directive. Avocet Medical's professional point-of-care use prothrombin time test system, AvoSure PT Pro+, falls under the self-certification category. The AvoSure PT Pro+ provides efficient monitoring of patients on oral anticoagulant therapy to the doctor's office or clinic where high quality prothrombin time test results are needed in a timely manner. In-office patients will benefit from the quick consultation that the doctor can provide now that the test results are available in just minutes and from the elimination of venous draws because the AvoSure PT Pro+ works with only a single drop of blood from a fingerstick.

Avocet Medical is a private company that is dedicated to bringing the same benefits of improved patient outcomes, reduced overall costs and expanded access to testing for those patients at risk of stroke that the manufacturers of blood glucose monitors brought to diabetics. Avocet Medical intends to accomplish this through the development, production and sale of professional point-of-care and patient self-test diagnostic systems and solutions that advance the practice of anticoagulation therapy management.