Heartport Enters Into Global Distribution Agreement With United States Surgical.

Business Editors

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--April 12, 2000

Heartport, Inc. (NASDAQ:HPRT), announced today that it has signed a five-year agreement with United States Surgical (USS), a unit of Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC; LSE: TYI; BSX: TYC), granting USS exclusive worldwide distribution rights, excluding Japan, to the company's Precision-OP(TM) beating-heart bypass surgery system.

Under the terms of the agreement, Heartport will continue to manufacture the Precision-OP system and develop other beating heart surgery technologies, which will be sold by the USS sales force with support from Heartport's organization. Heartport will receive guaranteed minimum revenues from USS.

"USS is an ideal partner because they are a world-class medical device company with a large, established global distribution network that has been selling beating heart devices successfully to cardiac surgeons for several years," said Casey M. Tansey, Heartport's president and chief executive officer. "They appreciate the value and potential growth opportunity of this market. Heartport has already captured an estimated six percent share of the U.S. beating heart surgery market with Precision-OP in only six months. This partnership should provide the critical mass needed in the field to significantly increase market share and revenues in this fast growing market segment."

It is estimated that more than 600,000 coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures are performed each year worldwide. Minimally invasive CABG is the fastest growing segment in cardiovascular surgery. Approximately 16 percent of current CABG procedures are performed minimally invasively and that number is projected to grow to more than 35 percent within the next three years.

"We are pleased to partner with the leading technology innovator in minimally invasive cardiac surgery," said Larry C. Heaton, USS's president. "We have a long history of providing clinicians with innovative technology, empowering education and business solutions to further the expansion of minimally invasive surgery. Heartport's proprietary technology in beating-heart surgery and strong intellectual property position give us the opportunity to build market share in this exciting growth segment. This distribution agreement will broaden our ability to deliver comprehensive solutions to our customers."

While supporting the efforts of the USS sales force, Heartport's direct sales force will focus primarily on growing Heartport's stopped-heart surgery product lines, including the recently introduced InSite AVR(TM) system to facilitate less invasive aortic valve replacement surgery. In addition, Heartport's research and development department will focus its efforts on bringing new and innovative beating-heart and stopped-heart products to market as soon as possible.

"This partnership enables Heartport to increase revenues for all of our products, many of which have significant growth potential," added Tansey. "At the same time, the synergies created by this alliance should allow us to further improve operating efficiency and focus our resources on developing our pipeline of new products."

Heartport began full-scale commercial introduction of the Precision-OP system in the United States in the fourth quarter of 1999. The company received CE Mark approval for the system last month, enabling its commercialization in Europe and other countries worldwide.

The Precision-OP system facilitates open-chest, off-pump, beating-heart, multi-vessel CABG. It includes the disposable StillSite(TM) Stabilizer, a patented device designed for optimal stabilization of target coronary arteries. The new StillSite II Stabilizer comes with either a straight or curved arm and a variety of stabilizer foot choices to facilitate tailored, site-specific anastamoses on the beating heart. With different stabilizing foot choices, StillSite II offers a greater degree of flexibility and adaptability than other products in this category. The system also includes the reusable OPTrac(TM) Retractor, which can be used in other open-chest procedures. The OPTrac Retractor has reusable retraction blades designed for varied patient anatomy and surgical approaches.

Heartport, Inc., is a cardiovascular device company developing, manufacturing, and marketing products designed to make cardiac surgery less invasive for patients with more rapid recovery. The company's technologies are used by hundreds of cardiac surgeons to perform a wide range of less invasive open-chest and minimally invasive heart operations, including a full range of stopped-heart and beating-heart procedures.

United States Surgical, a unit of Tyco Healthcare, is a leading manufacturer of endomechanical products, advanced laparoscopic devices and a comprehensive line of sutures that works collaboratively with physicians, nurses and administrators to improve patient care outcomes and to offer the best efficiencies for healthcare providers.

Tyco Healthcare is one of the major businesses of Tyco International Ltd. Tyco Healthcare manufactures and distributes disposable medical supplies, medical electrodes and medical instruments, including such names as Auto Suture, Kendall, Sherwood, Surgical Dynamics, Uni-Patch, United States Surgical, ValleyLab and others.

Note: Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially due to factors set forth from time to time in Heartport's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.