Micro Therapeutics Provides Development Update On Neuro-Vascular Products At ING Baring Furman Selz Healthcare Conference.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 15, 1998--

Company Develops First Guidewire for Neuro-Vascular Use;

Exceeds 90 Procedures with EMBOLYX(tm)

Presenting at the ING Baring Furman Selz New York Healthcare Conference Tuesday, Micro Therapeutics Inc. (MTI) (Nasdaq:MTIX) said it has successfully developed and is preparing to launch its first guidewire product representing the company's entry into the neuro-vascular market.

Additionally, the company provided an update on its clinical progress in addressing neuro-vascular disorders with its proprietary EMBOLYX(tm) Liquid Embolic System.

The new guidewire, known as SilverSpeed(tm), is the first of a group of products being developed by MTI that enable access to the small, remote and often tortuous blood vessels in the brain.

Effective access utilizing proprietary micro catheters and guidewires enables placement within the brain's distal vasculature for the delivery of blood-clot-dissolving agents or embolization products, including the company's EMBOLYX material intended for the treatment of aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), and head and neck tumors -- three conditions that can lead to stroke.

Commenting on SilverSpeed, MTI's President and Chief Executive Officer George Wallace said it has been designed to work in conjunction with the company's two neuro micro catheters, FLOW RIDER(tm) and EASY RIDER(tm), both of which are capable of delivering EMBOLYX. Together they form an initial core-product base that allows access and therapy in the brain.

Wallace said the SilverSpeed has received marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the CE Mark, enabling sales in Europe. Orders from MTI's distributors around the world have already been received, and shipping for these three products is expected to commence in the first quarter of 1999.

Wallace also noted that the company has made significant progress in the use of EMBOLYX in clinical trials. To date, the company has performed more than 90 procedures with EMBOLYX for the treatment of AVMs and head and neck tumors.

In addition, EMBOLYX has been used on a compassionate-need basis for the embolization of an AVM in the peripheral vascular system. Finally, the company has made progress in its discussions with the FDA in initiating IDE clinical evaluations in a multisite study of head and neck tumors.

"EMBOLYX continues to meet or exceed our expectations in interventionally treating certain neuro and peripheral vascular disorders," said Wallace. "Our next clinical milestone will be the treatment of aneurysms using EMBOLYX, which we expect to be conducted in the first half of 1999."

For the interventional treatment of neuro-vascular disorders, EMBOLYX is delivered via micro catheters that allow access to tiny, remote blood vessels in the brain. Once deployed into the desired site, it quickly transforms into a solid polymer mass to fill the vascular lesion.

Micro Therapeutics, founded in 1993 and based in San Clemente, develops, manufactures and markets minimally invasive medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease.

Certain statements in this release are forward looking and may involve risk and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, product development, demand and market acceptance risks, the impact of competitive products and pricing, regulatory approval, and future product development. More information on factors that could affect Micro Therapeutics Inc.'s financial results is included in the company's prospectus dated Feb. 18, 1997, as well as in its Forms 10-QSB and 10-KSB, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.