PLAINSBORO, N.J., Oct. 20, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:IART) today announced plans to market and sell EnDura(TM) No-React(R) Dural Substitute, a new suturable product for repair of the dura mater. Integra is featuring the EnDura product at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons meeting in Denver, Colorado this week and is launching the product in the United States and internationally through its Integra NeuroSciences direct sales force.
EnDura No-React Dural Substitute is a collagen-based material that is treated with the proprietary No-React process. The No-React process reduces the body's inflammatory response to the implant, prolongs its durability and eliminates the need for rinsing prior to implantation. In preclinical studies, the EnDura No-React Dural Substitute demonstrated excellent host tissue response and showed no adhesion to brain tissue.
"The EnDura No-React Dural Substitute is an important addition to our duraplasty product line," said Robert Paltridge, Integra's Senior Vice President of Sales. "With the suturable EnDura product and our sutureless DuraGen(R) onlay graft, we can now offer physicians a complete array of solutions for dural repair. Introducing this product is an example of Integra's ability to respond to the needs of physicians, which has made us a market leader in neurosurgery."
The dura mater is the tough, fibrous membrane that surrounds and protects the tissues of the brain and spinal cord. During neurosurgical procedures, the dura mater may be torn, deficient or removed. Effective dural closure is imperative to prevent cerebrospinal fluid leaks and allow wound healing to occur. While the majority of dural defects can be grafted with Integra's innovative onlay DuraGen product, there remain a significant number of procedures where a suturable graft is the preferred method of closure. These dural defects can now be repaired with EnDura No-React Dural Substitute.
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation is a diversified medical technology company that develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in a variety of applications. The primary applications for our products are neuro-trauma and neurosurgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, general surgery and soft tissue repair. Integra is a leader in applying the principles of biotechnology to medical devices that improve patients' quality of life. The Company has its corporate headquarters in Plainsboro, New Jersey, with manufacturing and research facilities located throughout the world. The Company has approximately 860 permanent employees.
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning future alternative clinical uses of the EnDura No-React Dural Substitute product. The accuracy of such forward-looking statements is necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from predicted or expected results. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from predicted or expected results. Among other things, physicians' willingness to use the EnDura No-React Dural Substitute product may affect the prospects for its use in additional clinical procedures. In addition, the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors identified under the heading "Risk Factors" included in the Business section of Integra's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 and information contained in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could affect actual results.