CryoLife's SynerGraft Tissue-Engineering Technology Featured At Cardiac Bioprostheses Symposium

ATLANTA, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- CryoLife, Inc. (NYSE: CRY), the leader in the development and commercialization of living human tissue implantable devices and a manufacturer and distributor of stentless heart valves and surgical adhesives, announced today that two studies on its patented SynerGraft Technology on heart valves and vascular grafts were presented at the VIII International Symposium -- Cardiac Bioprostheses held in Cancun, Mexico, November 3-5, 2000. The presentations by Dr. Ronald C. Elkins and Dr. David R. Clarke on the SynerGraft Technology included its use on human allograft heart valves (CryoValve(R)-SG,) and on a bovine derived vascular graft, respectively. Dr. Clarke's study was sponsored by CryoLife, Inc.

SynerGraft technology represents a major development in tissue-engineered replacement biologic devices for repair of damaged or diseased human tissue. The technology incorporates the use of animal tissue or human (host) tissue that has been depopulated of host cells to provide a collagen matrix that has a normal tissue architecture. This creates a replacement tissue structure similar to its human counterpart with the potential to repopulate with the recipient's own cells.

Steven G. Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of CryoLife, Inc., said "Development of the SynerGraft technology is designed to provide surgeons with a new family of tissue-engineered biologic products for potential use in a wide variety of applications in patient treatment."

On October 16, 2000, CryoLife announced that it had received a "CE" (product certification) mark for the commercial distribution in the European Union of its recently introduced SynerGraft tissue-engineered pulmonary heart valves (SynerGraft(R) Heart Valve).

Domestically, CryoLife introduced human allograft heart valves that are processed using the SynerGraft technology in the first quarter of 2000. The valves processed by this method are designated as CryoValve-SG to differentiate them from valves processed by the Company's standard CryoValve process. The CryoValve-SG valves are designed for patients who have experienced a prior immune response to allograft heart valves. To date, some fifty-five (55) of the SynerGraft processed human valves have been successfully implanted in humans.

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 approved as an adjunct for acute thoracic aortic dissections under HDE regulations in the United States and is CE marked in the European Union and approved in Canada for use in vascular and pulmonary sealing and repair. The Company also manufactures CryoLife-O'Brien and CryoLife-Ross(R) stentless porcine heart valves, which are distributed within the European Community.

Statements made in this press release that look forward in time or that express management's beliefs, expectations or hopes regarding future occurrences are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These future events may not occur when expected, if at all, and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include the possibility that future clinical SynerGraft test results will not be encouraging or that SynerGraft valves will not repopulate with recipient cells as expected, that SynerGraft regulatory submissions will not be ready when planned, that anticipated regulatory approvals will not be obtained on a timely basis, if at all, that SynerGraft will not provide effective applications for bypass surgical procedures or other treatments for patients, and other risk factors detailed the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.

For additional information about the company, visit CryoLife's web site: http://www.cryolife.com

SOURCE CryoLife, Inc.

CONTACT: Roy Vogeltanz, Vice President, Corporate Communications of CryoLife, Inc., 800-438-8285/