Prominent Senior Executives from Stryker, St. Jude Medical, and Edwards Lifesciences Participating in Panel Discussion Titled 'The Big Company Perspective on Deal-Making' at Medtech Insight and Windhover Information's 'In3 WEST' Conference.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Investment In Innovation (In3) WEST: A Preview of Early-Stage Medical Technology Companies; Feb. 23-24, 2006; Irvine, Calif.

Medtech Insight and Windhover Information have announced that the prominent device industry executives Matt Alves, VP, strategic development at Stryker Instruments, Kurt Goos, group director, global strategic marketing and planning at St. Jude Medical, and Stuart Foster, corporate VP, technology & discovery at Edwards Lifesciences, will be sharing their perspectives and experiences in an informative and interactive panel discussion titled "The Big Company Perspective on Deal-Making," at their upcoming "Investment In Innovation (In3) WEST: A Preview of Early-Stage Medical Technology Companies" conference, being held Feb. 23-24, 2006, at the Hyatt Regency Irvine in Irvine, Calif. The In3 WEST event will also highlight presentations by 50 early-stage medical technology companies seeking funding and/or strategic partnership, each followed by break-out sessions in private conference rooms, and will be attended by the biggest dealmakers in the medical technology and healthcare investment communities.

The high-powered panel discussion will explore the medical device deal-making phenomenon from a number of angles, including examining what the appetite for big companies will be in the coming years; how much will deal-making remain within a company's historic technology/clinical spaces, and how much will they use it to extend beyond; how have deal-making strategies, approaches, and structures changed over the past several years; what criteria do big companies use in identifying and targeting small companies; and how have the strong IPO market and other factors affected valuations. The panel will be moderated by David Cassak, managing partner at Windhover Information.

Fifty early-stage medical technology companies from all around will be presenting at In3 WEST, that are developing products for a variety of high-growth medical technology markets, including cardiovascular/peripheral vascular, orthopedics/spine, imaging and image-guided surgery, neuro/stroke, diagnostics, regenerative medicine, biomaterials, diabetes, wound healing, drug delivery, oncology, and ophthalmology, among others. Presenting companies confirmed thus far include (most presenting at a Medtech Insight event for the first time; more being added prior to the event): ACell, AcuNetx, Advanced Cell Technology, Advanced Imaging Systems, AerovectRx, BioCare Systems, BioImagene, BioniCare Medical Technologies, Biosan Medical, BioTHER, Brain Matters, Cardiovascular Systems, Cardiva Medical, Cavitech, CleveX, Crosscart, CVAC Systems, Cytograft Tissue Engineering, Design Medical, Dialog Devices, Duke Vascular, Duravest, EndoCor, Glucostats System, Hemedex, HemoBioTech, InfraScan, InnerVision Medical Technologies, IYIA Technologies, Lingualcare, MedicalCV, Minnow Medical, OtisMed, Paieon, Paradigm Spine, Pathfinder Therapeutics, PhotoImmune Biotechnology, Power Paper, Reach Surgical, SpinX Technologies, SurgiFile, Symphony Medical, TEKIA, Tibion, Urovalve, VasoGenix Pharmaceuticals, and Vision Solutions Technologies. See the Medtech Insight Web site for full event details: http://www.medtechinsight.com/in3-16.html.

In3 WEST will also feature tabletop exhibits and product prototypes by presenting companies during a networking dinner, and a keynote presentation by Michael Henson, general partner at MedFocus Fund and founder/CEO/chairman/board member of 16 emerging healthcare companies, titled "From Invention to Commercialization ... and Beyond." Scott Wolf, M.D., partner at Prospect Venture Partners and founder of Percardia, Cardiac Dimensions, Archus Orthopedics and Endogastric Solutions, will give the "State of Medtech Investing - 2006" presentation. In addition, Robert Fish, partner at Rutan & Tucker and chair of the firm's Intellectual Property and Technology Group, will give a presentation titled "Weaving Gold from Straw."

The In3 WEST audience will include top decision makers from these medical technology companies and healthcare investment firms, among many others: 3i, Abbott Laboratories, Aberdare Ventures, Aubrey Group, Baird Venture Partners, BD Medical, Boston Scientific, CIBC World Markets, C.R. Bard, COBE Cardiovascular, Cordis, CryoLife, Datascope, De Novo Ventures, DuPont BioSciences, Edwards Lifesciences, Ethicon, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Guidant, InCube, Johnson & Johnson, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Kimberly-Clark, Medtronic, Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Merck, Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, Olympus America, Prospect Venture Partners, Regeneration Technologies, Smith & Nephew, St. Jude Medical, Stryker, Thomas Weisel Healthcare Venture Partners, Triathlon Medical Ventures, Tyco Healthcare, Versant Ventures, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and W.L. Gore, among many others being confirmed regularly.

In3 WEST co-sponsors include AdvaMed, Battelle, Business Wire, MarketMonitors, Medmarc and The Hartford, Ronald Trahan Associates, Rutan & Tucker LLP, Teledyne Medical Microsystems, The MedTech Group, and Underwriters Laboratories.

To register to attend In3 WEST, call Kristy Grimes of Medtech Insight at 480-985-9512, 888-202-5939 toll-free in the U.S., e-mail [e-mail], or visit www.medtechinsight.com. The registration rate is $1,495 per attendee, with multiple registrant discounts available.

About Medtech Insight

Medtech Insight, a division of Windhover Information Inc., is the leading provider of business information and market intelligence for the medical technology marketplace. For more on the company's products and services, and to see the company's 2006 conference schedule, please visit www.medtechinsight.com.