Sulzer Carbomedics Inc (CarboMedics) a subsidiary of Centerpulse, and a world leader in products for treatment of valvular heart disease announces an agreement whereby they will become a supplier of mechanical heart valves and annuloplasty rings for the member facilities of HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HPG). The two-year contract begins January, 2003.

John Groover, President of CarboMedics, stated: "This is a significant milestone for CarboMedics. The leading network of investor-owned hospitals in the USA recognizes that CarboMedics valvular repair and replacement products are world-class, with proven quality and efficacy. Furthermore, it allows the cardiac surgical community in the member hospitals served by HPG to offer these products to their patients. This recognition of confidence by HPG for CarboMedics is timely as we begin a new phase of our history as a leader in the heart valve industry."

In November 2002, it was announced that Snia, S.p.A. would purchase CarboMedics in a planned divestiture by Centerpulse. The deal is expected to close in early 2003.

HealthTrust Purchasing Group L.P. is one of the nation's leading healthcare group purchasing organizations, with a current membership in excess of 900 facilities and contracting volume totaling more than $5.5 billion. HPG is committed to providing its customers with the highest-quality, cost-effective supplies and services for their patients, physicians, nurses and other clinicians. HPG's membership includes hospitals, surgery centers, clinics, physicians, integrated delivery networks and affiliate members.

The Carbomedics Prosthetic Heart Valve has been implanted in nearly 500,000 patients in over 100 countries since its first implant in 1986, with an unmatched record of no post-operative mechanical failures. CarboMedics has manufactured prosthetic heart valves since 1969 and is a leading supplier of mechanical heart valves in the USA.