Gambro acquires the assets owned by Sanguistech
Gambro acquires the assets owned by Sanguistech and increases its competitiveness in global blood component technology Stockholm, Sweden, July 9, 2001 - Gambro AB (OM Stockholm Exchange: GAMBaST, GAMBbST), a leading international medical technology and healthcare company, today announced that it has acquired the assets owned by Sanguistech AB, a subsidiary of SAAB AB. Both Sanguistech's products and patent estate support Gambro BCT's strategy to extend its Automation Blood Collection focus beyond the apheresis (on-line) collection environment. The Orbisac System is the key blood separation product and technology in this acquisition. Today Gambro BCT delivers products and technologies for separation of automatically collected blood. The Orbisac System will enable Gambro BCT to offer automated processing of manually collected blood. This will increase the number of procedures that Gambro BCT can deliver to blood centers around the world, which today collect over 40 million whole blood donations per year. "The Sanguistech acquisition fits well in Gambro BCT's product development program and we look forward to a strong collection of automated blood processing applications resulting from this purchase," says David Perez, President and CEO of Gambro BCT. Through this acquisition, Gambro BCT further assists blood centers in meeting the challenges of complying with global regulatory standards, hiring and retaining high quality employees, and increasing cost pressures. The Orbisac technology will expand the level of automation and help blood centers manage increasingly more complex operations. Gambro BCT is a world leader in blood bank technology and therapeutic apheresis through automated blood collection, pre-storage leukoreduction, and the development of a unique approach to enhancing blood safety using Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and light to inactivate pathogens in blood components. For further information please contact: Steve Urdahl, Gambro BCT, tel +1 303 231 4195, +1 303 517 1761 Bengt Modéer, Investor Relations, tel. +46-8-613 65 00, +46-70-513 65 33 Karin Avasalu, Corporate Communications, tel. +46-8-613 65 00, +46-70- 513 65 99 Kevin Smith, President Gambro Inc., Investor Relations US, tel. +1-303 231 4750 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/07/09/20010709BIT00070/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/07/09/20010709BIT00070/bit0002.pdf