Catrix Study Featured in Medical Journal and NBC-TV.

Business Editors & Medical/Health Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 2002

A study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatologic Surgery, concludes that Catrix(R) 10 Ointment facilitates faster healing than conventional treatments following cosmetic surgical procedures.

The published report was also featured on NBC newscasts in the New York, Chicago and Los Angeles markets.

The significance of this study is based on the increasing number of cosmetic procedures performed to counteract the effects of aging, sun damage acne scarring and post surgical scars. The cutaneous laser resurfacing procedure to treat these conditions has benefited thousands of patients. However, the success of the procedure depends upon both surgical technique and meticulous post-operative wound care and there is controversy regarding the best type of wound dressing. Since the dressing is such an important component of the procedure's success, both doctors and patients seek out the latest advances in post-operative wound management.

The study, conducted by Maritza Perez. M.D., director of cosmetic dermatology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York, focused on patients who, after completing a laser resurfacing treatment, were randomly assigned to receive Catrix(R) 10 Ointment on one side of their face and Aquaphor, a standard over-the-counter ointment, on the other for eight consecutive days. Upon evaluation of the statistics researchers confirmed that the side treated with the Catrix(R) 10 Ointment healed much faster. "Since the Catrix Ointment facilitates quicker healing, in theory patients treated with it were at less risk for all the complications that open wounds imply," says Dr. Perez. "Although the mechanism by which bovine cartilage accelerates wound healing is not completely understood, we think it may enhance and accelerate the skin's own healing process."

The positive effects on wound healing by pulverized cartilage were first documented in the 1950s. Since then, several studies demonstrating decreased inflammation within a wound associated with bovine cartilage preparations have been reported. Dr. Perez's study indicates that there is an alternative, approved treatment that may be superior to the conventional wound dressings being used by many physicians and their patients. Since the wound dressing is such an important element of the healing process it behooves both parties to use the best product available.

Catrix(R) Wound Dressing, approved by the FDA in 1998 for the management of chronic skin ulcers, is a specially processed bovine cartilage product in the form of a fine, white powder. Catrix(R) contains mucopolysaccharides and collagen and is a natural material that excludes chemical additives. The product used to treat patients in the study contained ten percent Catrix(R) Wound Dressing powder. Catrix(R) treatment is also available in cream and lip balm formulations.

Lescarden, Inc., maker of Catrix(R) Wound Dressing, is a 41-year-old biotech company dedicated to the development of natural, biologic therapies for the chronic wound care, dermatology and osteoarthritis markets. For more information please contact the Company at 212-687-1050 or visit www.catrix.com.