Collagen Corporation to Market New Injectable, Hylaform Gel, For Facial Wrinkles and Scars; Collagen Corporation to Expand Injectable Product Line.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 1996--Collagen Corporation today announced that it will market a new injectable product, Hylaform(R) gel, for facial wrinkles and scars through a distribution agreement with Biomatrix Inc. (NASDAQ:BIOX) of Ridgefield, N.J.

Hylaform(R) gel is a viscoelastic, injectable gel derived from hyaluronan for augmentation of facial wrinkles and depressed scars. Biomatrix received CE mark approval for Hylaform(R) gel in December 1995, allowing this product to be marketed throughout the European Economic Area. It is the first such product to have received European Area approval for marketing. Clinical studies on Hylaform(R) gel have been conducted in the U.S. and Sweden.

The Appearance Technologies Division of Collagen Corporation plans to begin marketing Hylaform(R) gel this fall outside the United States. For these launches, Hylaform(R) gel will not require a test dose prior to treatment and, therefore, is expected to expand the number of new patients treated with injectable products each year. Collagen Corporation will target patients seeking immediate treatment of wrinkles and scars with injectable therapy, as well as those patients who may be sensitive to injectable collagen products.

"We are very excited to be marketing this new product, Hylaform(R) gel, in alliance with Biomatrix," stated Gary Petersmeyer, president and chief operating officer of Collagen Corporation. "The audience that will benefit from Hylaform(R) gel, as well as our proven line of injectable collagen products, are women and men in their late 20's up into their 70's, including "baby-boomers" who are entering the prime of their lives -- every 7 seconds someone turns 50 years old! Also Hylaform(R) gel will allow doctors to immediately and proactively treat patients who already visit their practices for other dermatological reasons who may be unaware of injectable therapies for wrinkles and scars. We are interested in providing doctors and patients with the widest range of treatment options for age-related wrinkles and scars. The addition of Hylaform(R) gel and ePTFE tubes (pursuant to a recently announced licensing agreement with Tissue Technologies Inc., of San Francisco, California), to our line of injectable collagen products, will help us to achieve this objective. The arrangement with Biomatrix further underscores Collagen's strategy to distribute products or acquire companies that leverage its market franchise, which has more than 15 years of experience working with dermatologists and plastic surgeons around the world."

Collagen Corporation will make an immediate $5 million payment to Biomatrix for the rights to market Hylaform(R) gel in Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada and selected additional markets in Latin America and the Middle East. In addition, Collagen will pay a transfer price for product shipments, as well as royalties on dermal augmentation product end market sales.

The Pre-Market Approval application for Hylaform(R) gel was submitted for filing and review to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August 1995. Marketing clearance in the U.S. is currently pending. Collagen Corporation has the right to market the product in the U.S., for an additional payment, upon Biomatrix's receipt of U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory clearance.

Biomatrix Inc., headquartered in Ridgefield, N.J., is an international biomedical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes viscoelastics made from proprietary biological polymers called hylans, used in therapeutic medical applications and skin care products.

Collagen Corporation is a technology-based company that develops, manufactures and markets biomedical devices for the treatment of defective, diseased, traumatized or aging human tissue.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements, the accuracy of which is necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties. The timing of product introductions, receipt of regulatory approvals, clinical efficacy of and market demand for products, among other matters discussed in this release, may differ significantly from the discussion of such matters in the forward-looking statements. Such differences may be based upon factors within Collagen Corporation's control, such as strategic planning decisions by management and reallocation of internal resources, or on factors outside of Collagen Corporation's control, such as scientific advances by third parties, introduction of competitive products and delays by regulatory authorities, as well as those factors set forth under the heading of "Factors That May Affect Future Results of Operations" in Collagen's Form 10-Q filed for the quarter ended March 31, 1996.

CONTACT: Collagen Corporation

Becky Stirn, 415/856-0200

or

Edelman Public Relations 

Jon Greer, 415/433-5381