Covalon Receives U.S.A. Patent And European Patent Certificate For Anti-Microbial Coating Technology Applied To Implantable Medical Devices.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario -- Covalon Technologies Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:COV) is extremely pleased to announce that it has received a U.S.A. patent and a European Patent Certificate for its method of making silver ion-releasing anti-microbial coatings for implantable medical devices for reducing hospital acquired infections in patients.

Covalon has received U.S.A. and European patent protection for its technology in applying an anti-microbial, sustained silver ion-releasing coating/complex to wound dressings, skin surface coverings and implantable medical devices for deterring the onset of hospital acquired infections (HAI) in patients. The use of skin coverings and implanted medical devices are a vital component of clinical practice, however, complications may arise from their use. Complications include the potential of the device to become the focus of microbial contamination that may lead to an HAI in the patient.

In the U.S.A., 2 million hospital patients contract infections; over 100,000 deaths per year are a result of HAI. The toll from HAI is higher than that from AIDs and automobile accidents combined. More specifically, urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for 40% of HAI and 15-50% of hospitalized patients with a urinary catheter experience a UTI from the catheterization. The added cost to American hospitals in order to combat UTIs is about US$1.8 Billion per year.

Dr. Frank DiCosmo, Covalon's CEO said, in response to the serious and growing problem of HAI, Covalon has developed an anti-microbial silver ion-releasing coating that can be applied to many medical devices to help reduce the incidence of HAI associated with the use of the devices. The anti-microbial sustained silver ion-release coating/complex provides unique opportunities to develop products which are closely tailored to the type of device used, the needs of patients and healthcare providers. Various skin coverings and catheters can take advantage of Covalon's unique coating technology. The clinical devices include: wound dressings, I.V. lines, endotracheal tubes, dialysis lines, urinary catheters, as well as many others devices. The devices modified with Covalon's coating are provided with a low-friction, anti-microbial coating in which silver ion is presented as a broad spectrum anti-microbial agent that is effective against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycyin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), other gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and yeasts. Covalon is very pleased that the technology is applicable to a wide variety of medical devices that can benefit from sustained release of anti-microbial silver ion that may help reduce the incidence of HAI and improve patient outcome.

Covalon Technologies Ltd., is an advanced medical biosystems company that has developed and patented advanced therapeutic biomaterials for wound care and surgical applications and coatings. Polymer chemistry and surface coating technology have been combined to create a range of time-release drug delivery platforms that are applied to many medical devices to treat many critical conditions. A variety of applications for these technologies have been identified and specific products have been developed. The products offer features and benefits providing solutions to many of the problems caused by current devices and their material properties which are used by most medical device manufacturers and suppliers. The problems include infection, poor biocompatibility, and microbial attachment.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this release.

This document contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future performance. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue", or the negative of any of these terms or comparable terminology. Such statements reflect the current views of management of the Company with respect to future events. Actual events or results may differ materially. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward -looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments.

Covalon Technologies Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:COV)