EMPI, Inc. Pursues New Uses for Iontophoretic Drug Delivery and Plans New Product Launch.

SAINT PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 1998--Empi, Inc., a medical device manufacturer, today announced its intent to launch a new iontophoretic drug delivery product called Dupel B.L.U.E.(TM) in first quarter, 1999.

"Dupel B.L.U.E., (BiLayer Ultra Electrode) is a new high performance design that incorporates the safety and cost effectiveness attributes of the predecessor Dupel(R) electrode while expanding available shapes and sizes. Dupel B.L.U.E. will first be marketed to Empi's existing orthopedic rehabilitation customer base," said Joseph E. Laptewicz, Empi's president and chief executive officer.

"The performance characteristics of Dupel B.L.U.E. allow Empi to investigate additional clinical indications for the product and two studies are currently underway," continued Laptewicz. "For dermatological procedures, the product is being investigated and shows promise for local anesthesia where site-specific delivery of lidocaine has advantages. This application is well along the clinical/regulatory pathway."

In more preliminary research, clinical results demonstrating the potential for Dupel iontophoresis of cisplatin for the site-specific treatment of basal cell carcinoma were presented in October in Nice, France at the Conference of the International Society of Preventive Oncology. Empi has been working with investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina on oncological applications of iontophoresis.

Certain statements made in this press release relating to the timing of the launch of Dupel B.L.U.E., and the application of Dupel B.L.U.E. for local anesthesia requiring site-specific delivery of lidocaine and potentially site-specific treatment of basal cell carcinoma, are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the success of clinical research currently being conducted which cannot be assured, the efficacy of Dupel B.L.U.E. in the applications described above and the acceptance of Dupel B.L.U.E. for such applications.

Empi, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets non-invasive biomedical devices and accessories for use in the orthopedic rehabilitation and incontinence treatment markets. The Company's shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Markets National Market under the symbol EMPI.