Sorin Group Announces US Market Clearance for Stockert S5 Heart-Lung Machine; New, Modular Perfusion System Offers Better Safety and Standard of Care for Hospitals.

ARVADA, Colo. -- Sorin Group (MIL:SRN), worldwide leader in cardiac surgery solutions, released also in the US the successor to Sorin Group's SIII perfusion system-the S5. The Stockert S5 is a fifth-generation heart-lung machine (HLM), coming from Stockert and COBE Cardiovascular brand technologies and is expected to help hospitals achieve new industry standards for safety, functionality, flexibility and quality. U.S. cardiac surgery teams now have access to the S5 along with the Stockert Heater-Cooler System 3T, used to control patient's temperature during cardiac surgery and also recently cleared for sale in the United States.

"The Stockert S5 represents a quantum leap in perfusion technology and the culmination of more than 30 years of experience in extracorporeal perfusion system design and manufacturing" said Jim Trevor, Country Manager, USA Commercial Operations and Vice President of Sales and Marketing, PBMS.

Significant advances have been made with this system in the area of patient safety. For example, the smaller footprint of the S5 allows closer positioning of the unit to the patient, effectively reducing line lengths and the possibility of hemodilution. In addition, acoustically differentiated alarms and information displayed on the high-resolution touch screens clearly describe the status of all monitoring functions of the extracorporeal circuit. Further, with the Stockert S5, there is no boot-up time, so the pumps are operable three seconds after turning the system on, which is important in emergency situations.

"The S5 does not use PC-based technology to control the system. All modules are directly programmed to perform a perfusion specific function and are completely interchangeable", commented Dr. Andreas Hahn, senior vice president, Business Line - Heart-Lung Machines. "When you combine the advanced features, ergonomics, functionality and quality of this system, it is clear that we've taken an important leap with the Stockert S5."

"Sorin Group collaborated with perfusionists across the globe to ensure that our newest heart-lung machine would include the most advanced features and technology," added Hahn, "and we are also excited to launch our triple channel heater cooler system in the U.S. market."

During bypass, the Stockert Heater-Cooler System 3T controls the temperature of the patient while separately controlling the temperature of the heart using independent water baths that are controlled by an extremely quiet and effective compressor system.

Drago Cerchiari, CEO for Sorin Group said the Stockert S5 is part of a company-wide strategy to maintain its market leadership position in the U.S. perfusion and blood management markets. "With the introduction of the PrimO2x low prime adult oxygenator earlier this year, the Stockert heater-cooler system 3T and now the Stockert S5 heart lung machine, Sorin Group has taken product innovation and patient safety to a new level".

About Sorin Group

Sorin Group (Reuters code: SORN.MI), a world leader in the development of medical technologies for cardiac surgery, offers innovative therapies for cardiac rhythm dysfunctions, interventional cardiology and the treatment of chronic kidney diseases. The companies of Sorin Group are: Bellco, CarboMedics, COBE Cardiovascular, Dideco, ELA Medical, Mitroflow, Soludia, Sorin Biomedica and, Stockert. Sorin Group has about 4,800 employees working at facilities in more than 80 countries throughout the world to serve over 5,000 public and private treatment centers.

For additional information, please visit our website: www.sorin.com