Dr. P. Charalambous Joins Meridian as PRIME ECG Marketing Director.

Business Editors/Health &Medical Writers

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 2000

Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTEC) announced that Dr. Peter M. Charalambous has joined the company as director of marketing and sales for the Cardiopulmonary Systems Group.

In this new position, Dr. Charalambous is responsible for the introduction of the company's new PRIME ECG(TM) electrocardiac mapping system on a worldwide basis. The innovative diagnostic device received CE Mark approval in 1999 for marketing in Europe, where it is expected to be launched in major countries this year.

&uot;Dr. Charalambous will play a key role as we seek to capitalize on the global opportunities presented by this important new technology,&uot; said James H. Miller, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Meridian. &uot;He brings extensive and proven international experience in the sales and marketing of a wide range of advanced diagnostic products, from computer-based imaging systems to laboratory instrumentation.&uot;

Dr. Charalambous joins Meridian from Applied Imaging Corporation, where he served as director of sales for North America, and was previously sales director and deputy managing director of Applied Imaging International, which produces automated biological imaging and software systems in the United Kingdom. He began his career in 1985 as export sales manager with a scientific instrument subsidiary of Fisons in the U.K., and later served as sales and marketing manager of Lumonics, a manufacturer of medical, scientific and industrial lasers.

Dr. Charalambous holds bachelor and masters degrees in physics, and received a Ph.D. in gamma ray astronomy from the University of Southampton. He will be based at Meridian's new European headquarters and research and development center in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The new PRIME ECG system features an easily applied disposable electrode vest using 80 leads, instead of the 12 leads used in traditional ECG systems. PRIME ECG provides precise, computer-generated diagnostic data designed to permit earlier and more accurate diagnosis within the critical first hours after a heart attack, when it is most beneficial.

The new PRIME ECG mapping system has been studied in more than 3,000 patients in Europe, and clinical trials are being conducted in the United States at the Medical College of Virginia. Following completion of U.S. clinical trials, the company plans to submit the innovative product to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval in the United States.

Meridian Medical Technologies is a world leader in the development of auto-injector drug delivery systems and has strong core technologies in non-invasive cardiopulmonary diagnostics. The company develops and produces healthcare products designed to save lives, reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of patient's lives. Additional company information is available on the World Wide Web at www.meridianmeds.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release that are not historical fact are &uot;forward-looking&uot; statements and involve important risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties, which are detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and include the inability to predict the results of clinical trials, costs, delays and uncertainties associated with applications for regulatory approval to market medical devices and the need to achieve market acceptance of new technologies, could cause the company's results to differ materially from the company's current expectations as expressed in this press release.