Biomatrix to Participate in Athletic Knee Injury Conference Held at New England Baptist Hospital
- Viscosupplementation to be Highlighted as a Therapy for Cartilage Disease -
RIDGEFIELD, N.J., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Biomatrix, Inc. (NYSE: BXM - news), today reported that the company will be participating in the Athletic Knee Injury Conference being held at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston on September 24th and 25th 1999. The program will be attended by leading orthopedic sports medicine specialists and will focus on current concepts and surgical techniques for athletic knee injuries. Dr. K. Wayne Marshall, M.D., Ph.D., a leading orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist from Toronto Western Hospital and an assistant professor at The University of Toronto, will highlight viscosupplementation as a therapy for the treatment of cartiladge disease and injury. Biomatrix is the developer and manufacturer of Synvisc®, the world's most advanced viscosupplementation product which provides long-term pain relief for osteoarthritis of the knee.
Dr. Arnold D. Scheller, M.D, New England Baptist Hospital and Orthopedic Chair for this program, stated, ''In keeping with New England Baptist's long- standing tradition of taking the lead toward advancing medical technologies, we are proud to host this important program that enhances the knowledge and skills of orthopedic surgeons with the latest in groundbreaking technology for treating athletic knee injuries.''
Dr. Endre A. Balazs, M.D., Biomatrix' chief executive officer and chief scientific officer, stated, ''As a pioneer of viscosupplementation, I am very pleased that this new therapeutic modality will be discussed and that its potential use after knee injury will be presented. We expect that this conference will highlight the use of Synvisc as a new and valuable tool in sports medicine for the management of knee injuries.''
Synvisc is marketed in the USA, most countries of the European Economic Area, and certain countries in Latin America and Asia. Biomatrix has contracts to market Synvisc in over 90 countries through marketing and distribution agreements with a number of large multi-national healthcare companies, and through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories has distribution rights and markets Synvisc in the USA and certain European and Middle Eastern countries; Boehringer-Ingelheim in France; Rhone-Poulenc Rorer in Canada; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. in Sweden and South Africa; Novartis Pharma AG throughout Latin America; and Bayer AG in Australia, New Zealand and certain countries in Asia.
Biomatrix developed and manufactures several other viscoelastic medical therapeutics. Hylaform® is an injectable viscoelastic hylan gel treatment for the correction of facial wrinkles and depressed scars. It is marketed in 23 countries by Collagen Aesthetics, Inc. (now Inamed Corp., OTC Bulletin Board: IMDC). Gelvisc® Vet is an elastoviscous hylan product for the treatment of arthritis in veterinary medicine that is distributed by Boehringer-Ingelheim in France and Equinord in Sweden. Biomatrix' Hylashield® products are viscoelastic therapeutics for the protection of the surface of the eye from noxious environmental conditions and are distributed in Canada by I-MED Pharma Inc. Biomatrix also manufactures nine patented elastoviscous intermediates for the skin care industry.
Biomatrix, Inc., headquartered in Ridgefield, New Jersey is an international biomedical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes elastoviscous products made from proprietary biological polymers called hylans, used in therapeutic medical applications and in skin care products.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the regulatory approval process, obtaining and enforcing patents, reimbursement by private health care providers, manufacturing capabilities, projected earnings and financial results, growing product demand, product liability, inventory levels of our marketing partners, future product development, and other risks detailed in Biomatrix' reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act, including Forms 10-Q and Biomatrix' annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998. For more information on Biomatrix, please visit the Company's web site at biomatrix.com.
Note: Synvisc®, Hylaform®, Gelvisc® Vet and Hylashield® are registered trademarks of Biomatrix, Inc.
SOURCE: Biomatrix, Inc. |
