FDA Clears to Market Innovative Blood Collection Product from Pall

     
BW20030115000148  20030115T130824Z UTC


( BW)(PALL-CORPORATION)(PLC) FDA Clears to Market Innovative Blood
Collection Product from Pall


    Business Editors
    UK REGULATORY NEWS

    EAST HILLS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 15, 2003--

Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL) announced today that the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) granted it clearance to market a pre-donation,
blood Sample Diversion Pouch on its Leukotrap(R) blood collection and
filtration systems. The Sample Diversion Pouch is used to divert the
initial volume of blood during collection, which can contain the
highest levels of bacteria. Transmission of bacterial contaminated
blood products is the number one infectious risk of a blood
transfusion.

The Pall Sample Diversion Pouch enables blood collection agencies to
divert up to 45 mL of blood for testing prior to donation. Research
has shown that bacteria present at the skin site can contaminate the
first few milliliters of blood collected during blood donation. A
venipuncture site can contain more than 3000 bacteria colony-forming
units. Although no single measure can eradicate the risk of
transfusing bacterial contaminated blood, diversion of the initial
blood volume can potentially reduce the incidence.

"The Pall Sample Diversion Pouch gives the medical community one more
tool to enhance blood transfusion safety as part of a bacterial risk
management program along with filtering out the leukocytes (white
blood cells) and screening for bacteria prior to transfusion," said
Sam Wortham, President of the Medical Group at Pall Corporation. The
FDA recently cleared for market the Pall(R) BDS, a new system to
detect bacterial contamination of platelets. The launch of these new
products from Pall comes at a time when the nation's leading blood
safety experts have called for immediate action from the blood banking
community to initiate programs to detect the presence of bacteria in
platelets.

Platelets are the blood component most vulnerable to contamination
from bacteria since they are stored at room temperature. Of the 4
million platelets transfused each year in the United States, about
1,000 to 4,000 are contaminated with bacteria, with anywhere from 167
to 1,000 cases of life-threatening sepsis occurring.

Fourteen million units of blood are collected each year in the U.S.
for use in about 16 million transfusions. Approximately 65 percent of
the blood for transfusion is filtered. Pall Corporation is involved in
extensive research and development in many areas of blood safety and
is the worldwide leader for leukocyte reduction filtration
technologies for red blood cells, platelets and plasma.

About Pall Corporation

Pall Corporation is the global leader in the rapidly growing field of
filtration, separations and purification. Pall's business is organized
around two broad markets: Life Sciences and Industrial. The Company
provides leading-edge products to meet the demanding needs of
customers in transfusion medicine, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals,
semiconductors, municipal drinking water and aerospace. Total revenue
for Pall Corporation is $1.3 billion. The Company is headquartered in
East Hills, New York, and has operations in more than 30 countries.
Further information can be found on its web site at
http://www.pall.com.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based on current Company expectations and are subject to risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially.
Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; regulatory approval
and market acceptance of new technologies; changes in product mix and
product pricing and in interest rates and cost of raw materials; the
Company's success in enforcing its patents and protecting its
proprietary products and manufacturing techniques and in integrating
the operations of FSG into the Company's existing business; global and
regional economic conditions and legislative, regulatory and political
developments; and domestic and international competition in the
Company's global markets. Additional information regarding these and
other factors is available on the web at http://www.pall.com and is
included in the Company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Copies of such reports can be obtained, without
charge, at: http://www.sec.gov.

   Short Name: Pall Corporation
   Category Code: REA
   Sequence Number: 00001602
   Time of Receipt (offset from UTC): 20030114T222638+0000

    --30--db/in

    CONTACT: Pall Corporation
             Media Inquiries:
             Patrice Radowitz, 516/801-9104
             [e-mail]
                   Or
             Investor Relations Inquiries:
             Diane Foster, 516/801-9102
             [e-mail]
             http://www.pall.com

    KEYWORD: NEW YORK UNITED KINGDOM INTERNATIONAL EUROPE
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BIOTECHNOLOGY MEDICAL MEDICAL DEVICES
PHARMACEUTICAL
    SOURCE: Pall Corporation

Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet
                          with Hyperlinks to your home page.
                          URL: http://www.businesswire.com