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To: Jay Letterman who wrote (14497)	5/5/1998 11:10:00 AM
From: Turboe	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 34592

SURG Information: Sarasota company's stock SURGes in value A major U.S. medical company has taken a profound interest in tiny Surgical Safety Products Inc., propelling its stock from pennies per share to more than $2 since February. Sarasota gynecologist Dr. Michael Swor formed the company in 1995, taking over a defunct stock company and renaming it. The stock became listed on the NASDAQ Bulletin Board under the symbol SURG. Swor has been developing a line of disposable operating room products, designed to protect medical workers from blood-borne diseases. But it is another innovation that has stolen the limelight. In March, Surgical Safety installed a prototype hospital safety computer system at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. If a worker has an accident such as getting jabbed with a used syringe or splashed with blood, the worker can report it by using the system's touch screen. The system, which Surgical Safety calls Oasis, provides information about what to do next. Even though it is a computer system, the worker sees it as a user-friendly touch screen. The company is working on 15-inch flat-screen versions. The product is reported to have worked well at Sarasota Memorial, and that experience should help the company sell it to other hospitals. But what sent the stock up was a deal with U.S. Surgical Corp., which signed a letter of intent to test-market the computer system in February. Before that, shares changed hands at 9 to 14 cents. On Monday, the stock closed at $2.84. U.S. Surgical, a world leader in surgical stapling, was interested ''in either becoming a real good customer, doing a joint venture or purchasing us,'' said Don Lawrence, Surgical Safety's vice president of marketing. Before U.S. Surgical would go any further, the company wanted to perform a market test by labeling the product as if it were its own and showing it at a major medical convention. The product appeared in that way at the Association of Operating Room Nurses, held in Orlando in early April, said Lawrence. The results ''surprised us, but floored them,'' Lawrence said. The demonstration of the safety screen ''captured 21 percent of all leads through their booth.'' This puts Surgical Safety in a strong negotiating position with U.S. Surgical. Swor referred obliquely to this prospect in an April 28 letter to shareholders, in which he predicted ''an alliance with a major surgical products company'' as something to watch for within four to eight weeks. The shareholder letter also outlined other developments that the company is working on: -- An international distribution deal. -- Significant corporate financing. -- A potential secondary stock offer. -- SURG's becoming a fully reporting SEC-registered stock company. NASDAQ Bulletin Board companies are mostly tiny outfits not required to submit audited financial results like regular NASDAQ and NYSE listings. The company projects earnings for this fiscal year of 20 cents a share. ''With a typical price to earnings multiple in this informatics industry of 40 plus, a projected earnings of 20 cents/share translates to $7-8 with SURG's outstanding shares,'' Swor wrote to shareholders. There are 9.7 million shares outstanding, of which 6.2 million are restricted, meaning they cannot be easily bought or sold. ''Our plan remains to build the company value,'' wrote Swor, ''and then be bought out by one of the major players.'' Got a tip? Please call me at 957-5142; or fax me at 957-5276. Story Filed By The HERALD TRIBUNE, SARASOTA, FLORIDA NYT-05-04-98 2015EDT