JOSTRA and BIOSAFE Conclude an Exclusive Licence for a New Autotransfusion Technology

In a move to further broaden its extensive portfolio of open heart surgery equipment, JOSTRA announced that it has concluded an exclusive worldwide licence for exploiting a new autotransfusion technology developed by BIOSAFE. Autotransfusion is a technique whereby the blood of a patient is recovered, washed and reinfused, avoiding disease transmission like hepatitis and AIDS. The system will be commercialised by JOSTRA under the trademark RotaCell.The potential autotransfusion market represents a value of 300 M$. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The technology developed by Biosafe offers unique advantages, such as the possibility to treat any amount of blood due to its variable separation chamber. It allows recovery of highly concentrated washed red cells even in cases of low blood loss. Indications cover all types of surgery including cardiac and orthopaedic, and can be extended to postoperative blood recovery. The RotaCell system is also ideally suited for all paediatric surgery. Compact, portable and very easy to use, the system is also ideal for mobile services.

“The addition of RotaCell to our range of equipment for extracorporeal circulation reinforces our commitment to deliver a full line of effective devices for open heart surgery” said Christian Palme, CEO of JOSTRA AG. “ With the recent acquisition of BENTLEY, we now reach an extensive network of cardiac surgeons and anaesthetists. The RotaCell technology will allow us to enter new markets like intensive care as well”.

“We are pleased to have concluded this licensing agreement with a company of such high reputation as JOSTRA” said Claude Fell, founder and CEO of BIOSAFE SA. “Although our technology offers a wide platform of applications, BIOSAFE’s strategy is to focus on its core business, cell therapy, and license its technology for other markets. We believe JOSTRA is ideally placed to promote this new blood salvage system in autotransfusion applications”.

The RotaCell system will be available for commercialisation towards the end of 2001.

About JOSTRA AG

JOSTRA AG was established in December 1982 by Lars Sunnanväder, who today holds the position as Chairman of JOSTRA’s Supervisory Board. His guiding principle “To do the right thing at the right time, because life is too precious for wrong decisions.” was adopted as the company philosophy. In less than 15 years, the company became the only manufacturer with its home office in Germany offering a complete line of medical technology devices and heart-lung machines for open heart surgery.

Jostra runs three production facilities in Hechingen/Hirrlingen (Germany), one in Lund (Sweden) and one in Anasco (Puerto Rico). The company headquarter are in Hirrlingen, Germany, near the city of Stuttgart. In addition, there are six subsidiaries in Sweden, France, Italy, Japan, the U.S. and China as well as four sales offices in Norway, the Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain. Today, Jostra delivers its products to more than 80 countries.

The product range includes heart-lung machines, hypo-hyperthermia units, membrane oxygenators, reservoirs, catheters and cannulaes, custom tubing packs, blood concentrators, centrifugal pumps and coating systems. Jostra is internationally renowned for the high quality and the safety of its products. In Europe, Jostra holds a market share of more than 30 per cent in the field of heart lung machines, making it the undisputed market leader. Also in the field of oxygenators, the company is among the market leaders with a share of 20 per cent.

About BIOSAFE SA

BIOSAFE SA is a start-up company founded in 1997, with objectives to develop and commercialise innovative cell separation systems. Applications range from blood component separations for blood banking, to the collection of stem cells in cell therapy. The company recently introduced the SEPAXtm system, a portable cell separator with ability to recover stem cells from bone marrow, peripheral or umbilical cord blood. The company has offices in Eysins, near Geneva, Switzerland and operates through a network of distributors.