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The addition of these new distributors follows the Company's announcementin May that it had restructured its international distribution agreement withGE Healthcare (GEHC) effective July 1, 2008. GEHC returned worldwide rights todistribute the BioArchive System to ThermoGenesis, while continuing asexclusive distributor of AXP Platform products for cord blood applications ingeographies outside of South America, Central America, Russia andChina -- excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan.
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The markets covered under these new BioArchive distribution agreementsinclude the United Kingdom, Russia, the Baltic region, China, Hong Kong, SouthKorea, a number of Middle Eastern and African countries and Central and SouthAmerica. In addition, the agreements add AXP distributors in Russia, China,and Central and South America. ThermoGenesis will sell the BioArchive directin North America.
"Our ability to achieve these agreements in a short period of time speaksnot only to the effectiveness of our sales organization, but also to thepotential market opportunity for our offerings," noted Dr. William Osgood,Chief Executive Officer of ThermoGenesis.
"We are particularly encouraged by the fact that many of thesedistributors previously sold one or more of our offerings -- including anumber that were previously successful selling the BioArchive -- and havedeveloped solid relationships with the market in their respective geographies.As a result, we expect minimal disruption to our selling efforts during thistransition," he added.
"We will continue to fill out distributor relationships in additionalgeographies -- including the Scandinavian countries -- over the coming months,and are initiating discussions with potential distribution organizationsregarding our recently-authorized MarrowXpress(TM) (MXP(TM)) device, which isfor use in a clinical laboratory setting or intraoperatively for preparationof a cell concentrate from bone marrow. At the same time," he continued, "weare having ongoing discussions with GEHC about other potential areas ofregenerative medicine that we can develop jointly."
About ThermoGenesis Corp.
ThermoGenesis Corp. (http://www.thermogenesis.com) is a leader indeveloping and manufacturing automated blood processing systems and disposableproducts that enable the manufacture, preservation and delivery of cell andtissue therapy products. These products include:
-- The BioArchive(R) System, an automated cryogenic device, is used bycord blood stem cell banks in more than 25 countries for cryopreserving andarchiving cord blood stem cell units for transplant.
-- AXP(TM) AutoXpress Platform (AXP(TM)) is a proprietary family ofautomated devices that includes the AXP and the MarrowXpress(TM) and companionsterile blood processing disposable for harvesting stem cells in a closedsystem. The AXP device is used for the processing of cord blood. GE Healthcareis the exclusive global distribution partner for the AXP cord blood productexcept for Central and South America, China and Russia/CIS, whereThermoGenesis markets through independent distributors. The MarrowXpress isused for isolating stem cells from bone marrow. ThermoGenesis sells theMarrowXpress directly to global customers.
-- The CryoSeal(R) FS System, an automated device and companion sterileblood