Sirtex Announces New Medical Director for U.S. Operations.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Sirtex, a leading developer of targeted and innovative cancer therapies, is pleased to announce Samuel G. Putnam, M.D. has been named medical director for United States operations. Sirtex manufactures SIR-Spheres[R] microspheres, the only FDA-approved microsphere therapy for colorectal cancer that metastasizes to the liver.1 Sirtex's U.S. headquarters are located in Wilmington, Mass.

Dr. Putnam joins Sirtex after nearly a decade as a practicing interventional radiologist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia where he helped develop the center's SIR-Spheres microspheres program. Dr. Putnam attended medical school at Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, and served in the U.S. Army as a flight surgeon. He continued his postgraduate training at Pennsylvania Hospital for diagnostic radiology and completed a Vascular and Interventional Radiology Fellowship at Temple University Hospital.

Dr. Putnam is Board Certified in diagnostic radiology, with a Certificate of Added Qualification in vascular and interventional radiology. He has an academic appointment as an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Society of Interventional Radiology.

"We are pleased to have Dr. Putnam join our team and serve as Sirtex's U.S. Medical Director," says Nat Geissel, CEO, Sirtex Medical Inc. "His experience, both as a practicing physician and leader at Fox Chase Cancer Center, will be invaluable as we continue to advance the use of microsphere therapy and improve the lives of people with liver cancer."

Dr. Putnam joins Ralph Peters, M.D., Sirtex medical director for European operations, and David Cade, M.D., medical director of the head office. Dr. Cade had previously held the position of U.S. Medical Director.

1Sirtex Medical Inc.'s SIR-Spheres[R] microspheres are indicated for the treatment of non-resectable metastatic colorectal cancer in combination with intra-arterial FUDR chemotherapy. Information regarding other disease states or agents in combination with this device that is presented in peer-reviewed literature is different from the approved USA labeling for SIR-Spheres.

About Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) using SIR-Spheres microspheres

Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) is a novel treatment for inoperable liver cancer that delivers high doses of radiation directly to the site of tumors. In a minimally-invasive treatment, millions of radioactive SIR-Spheres microspheres are infused via a catheter into the liver where they selectively target liver tumors with a dose of internal radiation up to 40 times higher than conventional radiotherapy, while sparing healthy tissue.

Clinical trials have confirmed that liver cancer patients treated with SIR-Spheres microspheres have response rates higher than with other forms of treatment, resulting in increased life expectancy, greater periods without tumor activity, and improved quality of life. SIRT has been found to shrink liver tumors more than chemotherapy alone.

SIRT using SIR-Spheres microspheres is approved for use in Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America (FDA approval), European Union (CE Mark), Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Israel, and India. SIRT is available in 140 treatment centers around the world, and more than 6500 patients have been treated to date.

Approximately 90 physicians in the United States use Sirtex's SIR-Spheres microspheres in more than 86 medical centers. For more information, visit www.sirtex.com.

[R] SIR-Spheres is a Registered Trademark of Sirtex SIR-Spheres Pty Ltd