CryoLife, Inc. Replies to Recent Articles and Announces Conference Call At 12:45 pm Today
Steven G. Anderson, President and CEO commented, "The report of twenty six infections in tissue transplants released by the CDC this morning relates to tissue processed by four or five tissue banks across the U.S. and represents events dating back as far as 1998. Some of the infections are likely not to be due to the tissue itself and may be infections transmitted from other sources. There is no epidemic of infections from tissue processed from tissue banks throughout the U.S. CryoLife has provided over 25,000 orthopaedic allograft soft tissue implants with more than 6,700 orthopaedic allograft soft tissue implants performed during 2001. The reported incidence of infection since 1998 from all causes associated with CryoLife orthopaedic soft tissue implants is less than two-tenths of one percent of 2001 implants."
Anderson went on to say, "Patient safety is paramount at CryoLife. CryoLife has taken all suggestions from the CDC seriously and has implemented those that it can at this time. CryoLife continues to evaluate improvements to its processes."
In order to further clarify CryoLife's position and to answer shareholder questions, CryoLife will hold a conference call at 12:45 pm today. The conference call will be hosted by Steven G. Anderson, President and CEO, D. Ashley Lee, Vice President and CFO, and James C. Vander Wyk, Ph.D., Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance. Shareholders interested in participating in the call may do so by calling (973) 872-3100 a few minutes prior to 12:45 pm Eastern time. Those interested in listening to a replay of the teleconference may do so by calling (toll free) 877-519-4471 or (973) 341-3080. The identification number for the replay is 3180696. The replay will be available through Friday, March 22, 2002.
Founded in 1984, CryoLife, Inc. is the leader in the development and commercialization of implantable living human tissues for use in cardiovascular, vascular and orthopaedic surgeries throughout the United States and Canada. The Company's BioGlue(R) surgical adhesive is FDA approved as an adjunct to sutures and staples for use in adult patients in open surgical repair of large vessels and is CE marked in the European Community and approved in Canada and Australia for use in vascular and pulmonary sealing and repair. The Company also manufactures the SynerGraft(R) heart valve and the SynerGraft vascular graft, the world's first tissue-engineered heart valve and vascular replacements, and the CryoLife-O'Brien(R) and CryoLife-Ross(R) stentless porcine heart valves, which are CE marked for distribution within the European Community. The human heart valves and vascular grafts processed by CryoLife using the SynerGraft technology are distributed in the U.S. under the trade names of CryoValve(R)SG and CryoVein(R)SG, respectively.
For additional information about the company, visit CryoLife's web site: http://www.cryolife.com
CONTACT: D. Ashley Lee, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of
CryoLife, Inc., 800-438-8285
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SOURCE CryoLife, Inc.
CONTACT: D. Ashley Lee, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of
CryoLife, Inc., 800-438-8285
URL: http://www.cryolife.com
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