Biopool International Appoints New Distributor in France.

VENTURA, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 9, 1998--Biopool International Inc. (Nasdaq:BIPL) Wednesday announced that it has appointed InGen to act as the new distributor of its immunohematology products in France effective Jan. 1, 1999.

InGen and its team of sales representatives operate under the direction of Joseph Coulloc'h, who has over 20 years of experience in the diagnostic markets of France. InGen also distributes complimentary virology products and products for the diagnosis of blood-borne infectious diseases.

Michael D. Bick, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Biopool, stated, "Since the acquisition of the BCA Division in January 1997, the Company's immunohematology product line has been distributed in France by Organon Teknika France, an affiliate of the former parent company of BCA, which has since veered its product focus away from the immunohematology market. InGen is a company strongly committed to the immunohematology market in France, as evidenced by its recent acquisition of a manufacturer of automated instrumentation for blood group analysis. This commitment by InGen, along with the 19 new immunohematology product approvals Biopool has received during 1998 from l'Agence du Medicament (ADM), the French regulatory agency, makes us very optimistic about gaining market share in France for these products in 1999."

Founded in 1987, Biopool International develops, manufactures, and markets a full range of test kits to assess and diagnose disorders of blood coagulation, thrombotic risk factors, fibrinolysis, platelet function, and the vascular system; specialty chemistry controls used to monitor and measure the presence of drugs of abuse; and blood group serology products used to screen for antibodies and group and type whole blood. The Company's product line of over 150 FDA-approved products is sold to hospitals, blood bank facilities, and clinical and reference laboratories on a worldwide basis by the Company's own sales representatives, as well as through an extensive network of distributors. To learn more about Biopool, visit the Company's web site at http://www.biopool.com.

NOTE: This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding gaining market share for the Company's immunohematology products in France, which are based upon current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, technological innovations of competitors, changes in health care regulations, litigation claims, foreign currency fluctuation, product acceptance or changes in government regulation of the Company's products, as well as other factors discussed in the Company's last Report on Form 10-K-SB under "Risk Factors."