MDY Mdy Healthcare

RNS No 1047h
MEDISYS PLC
21 June 1999

                                MEDISYS PLC

                    Acquisition of Futura Safety Syringe
 
Medisys PLC ("Medisys") announces that it has agreed to acquire the world-wide
rights of the Futura safety syringe and related technology from Adventec, Inc.
("Adventec") of the USA.  The transaction is subject to approval by Adventec's
shareholders.

The Futura is an innovative safety syringe featuring a state of the art
automatic and passive retraction function - when the plunger is pressed down
fully the needle is automatically retracted into the syringe barrel. 

In addition, the Futura has a number of unique features, which provide
significant advantages over existing safety syringes and which will enable it
to be priced very competitively.  The Futura syringe has only three
components, compared to the eleven in a typical safety syringe, bringing
considerable benefits in terms of manufacturing cost and complexity.  The
Futura technology has already won PCT and US patents and functional prototypes
have been produced. 

Pioneering legislation in the US is driving the adoption of safety syringe
technology to help combat the problems of needlestick injury, which affects
one million healthcare workers per annum in the US alone.  The Futura syringe
will automatically qualify for approval under the current California,
Tennessee and Maryland safety legislation once 510K approval from the FDA has
been received.  Medisys expects to file the Futura application early in 2000.

The Futura is the result of a year long collaboration between Medisys and
Adventec, with Medisys applying its product engineering, materials and
manufacturing expertise to Adventec's original design.

Medisys will produce the Futura through a leading US based OEM supplier with
an established reputation for medical device manufacturing.  Pilot production
is expected to begin during the last quarter of 1999.

Kurt Amundson, President & Chief Operating Officer of Medisys, said: "The
Futura safety syringe is a key addition to our portfolio of diagnostic,
medical supply and medical safety products for the point of care market.  OEM
manufacture will ensure that we are able to bring the Futura to market as
rapidly as possible.

"The Futura is a proven, well patented technology which will provide us with
significant manufacturing and cost advantages over existing products. In
addition, it will complement our existing NicSafe needle disposal system and
enable Medisys to offer its customers a total solution to the problem of
needlestick injury."


Note to editors:

Needlestick Injury

Needlestick injury and the associated risk of infectious disease transmission
is a major hazard to healthcare worker safety, with over 1 million needlestick
injuries being reported annually in the US alone.  The cost of these injuries
is estimated to be $3 billion, excluding legal awards for compensation. 
Legislation in the US, pioneered by California and Tennessee but now being
introduced or drafted by over half of US states, will make the use of safety
needles mandatory.

The US market for disposable hypodermic syringes was estimated to be 6.6
billion units in 1997, with safety syringes accounting for around 5% of the
total.  Market research group Theta forecasts that safety syringe market share
will rise to 75% by 2001. 

Medisys PLC

Medisys PLC develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic, medical and safety
products serving the rapid test and point of care medical market.  The Group
has two principal operating subsidiaries, Hypoguard and Lukens, located in the
UK and in the US respectively.  The diagnostic division develops and supplies
blood glucose monitoring systems for the diabetic market.  Its future focus is
on serving unmet medical needs through the development of diagnostic products
based on its own proprietary platform technologies.  Headquartered in Ipswich,
UK, the Group employs approximately 225 people in the UK and US.

Enquiries:

Medisys PLC                                          (21/06/99) 0171 601 1000
Kurt Amundson, President 
  & Chief Operating Officer                     (Thereafter) 001 650 327 7900
Michael Barry, Chief Financial Officer          (Thereafter) 001 770 271 2795

Square Mile Communications                                      0171 601 1000
Kevin Smith/James Melville-Ross



END

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