Bayer Diagnostics and PharmaNetics Announce 510-k- Clearance For New Low Range Heparin Management Test -LHMT-.

Business & Health Editors

TARRYTOWN, N.Y./RALEIGH, N.C.--(BW HealthWire)--April 10, 2000

LHMT Test Added to Rapidpoint(R) Coag Menu

Bayer Diagnostics and PharmaNetics, Inc. (NASDAQ NM: PHAR), the holding company of Cardiovascular Diagnostics, Inc. ("CVDI"), today announced that 510(k) clearance was granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a new Low Range Heparin Management Test (LHMT). The test is based on PharmaNetics' Thrombolytic Assessment System (TAS) technology platform, which is marketed worldwide by Bayer Diagnostics as Rapidpoint(R)Coag.

The LHMT measures lower doses of heparin and will be used primarily in diagnostic and interventional cardiology procedures. The LHMT represents a niche $25-30 million test market. The American Heart Association estimates three million diagnostic and interventional procedures, including angioplasty, stenting, and PTCA were performed in the U.S during 1997. The importance of the test is that it completes Rapidpoint Coag's comprehensive menu of six tests for total heparin management used in numerous therapies, and various dosages, throughout the hospital.

In January, PharmaNetics' heparin management system received market clearance from the FDA for use primarily in cardiac bypass procedures with high dosages of heparin. Bayer expects to launch the heparin management system as Rapidpoint(R) Accent this summer.

"Clinical practices for various therapies require different dosing regimens. Consequently, diagnostic devices must be flexible enough to provide tests for these regimens in numerous patient care settings. The TAS provides a single platform that can be used with multiple test cards to rapidly monitor heparin as well as other antithrombotic agents throughout their therapeutic range," said John Funkhouser, President and Chief Executive Officer, PharmaNetics. Funkhouser continued, "While the LHMT completes the heparin menu, PharmaNetics' ultimate goal is to provide management tools for physicians utilizing any therapeutic affecting coagulation. Earlier this year, the Company announced the development of two menu extensions to monitor platelet inhibitors and low molecular weight heparin, two classes of drugs that are being used increasingly to prevent thrombosis."

"Bayer Diagnostics is strongly committed to the point-of-care coagulation market," said Fran Tuttle, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Critical Care Diagnostics, Bayer Diagnostics. "We have, and will continue to support research and development of new tests for Rapidpoint Coag. Today, Bayer Diagnostics offers the broadest menu of coagulation tests available on a single unit." Ms. Tuttle continued, "In addition, the launch of Rapidpoint Accent, expected later this year, will enhance Bayer's presence in the cardiac surgery market by offering the surgical staff a fully automated heparin management system."

Heparin is currently the major drug used to control blood clotting in patients undergoing procedures such as diagnostic cardiac catheterization and interventional procedures which include balloon angioplasty and stent placement. Because it is widely used, heparin is responsible for more bleeding complications in hospital patients than any other drug. The need for heparin management is because the response of different patients to the same dose of heparin can vary widely. Of particular importance in interventional cardiology is the need to reliably monitor heparin down to a safe level at the end of the procedure to allow removal of the arterial sheath without substantial bleeding. Thus, there is a requirement for the LHMT test.

Headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, Bayer Diagnostics, (www.bayerdiag.com), is one of the largest diagnostic businesses in the world. With more than 7,500 employees worldwide and 1998 sales of close to $1.8 billion, the company serves customers in 100 countries with a breadth of diagnostics technology in the areas of nucleic acid diagnostics, cardiovascular disease management, oncology, virology and blood glucose monitoring. Bayer Diagnostics is a division of Bayer Corporation and a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $31 billion international life sciences, polymers and specialty chemicals group based in Leverkusen, Germany. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Bayer Corporation is a research-based company with major businesses in health care, life sciences and chemicals.

PharmaNetics, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets rapid turnaround diagnostics to assess blood clot formation and dissolution. The Company develops tests based on its proprietary, dry chemistry Thrombolytic Assessment System for its principal target market of powerful new drug compounds, some of which may have narrow therapeutic ranges, as well as for monitoring routine anticoagulants. The Company's therapeutic diagnostics are used to monitor the effect of antithrombotic agents in the treatment of angina, myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, deep venous thrombosis, and pulmonary and arterial emboli.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of PharmaNetics that involve risks and uncertainties, such as risks related to market acceptance, clinical trials and dependence on third-party distributors and collaborative partners that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Information concerning these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the Company's SEC filings, including Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports.