In 1998, Biosensors International Group and its subsidiary Biosensors BV (The Netherlands), became part of Biosensors International Group through the combination of three commonly controlled companies: Biosensors International Pte Ltd (Singapore), Biosensors International USA (Newport Beach, CA), and Biosensors Japan Co. Ltd. (Tokyo), all established in 1990. The merger served to minimize overheads and create a fully integrated organization. It has also positioned the Company both for internal, organic growth, through the introduction of leading-edge/cost-effective proprietary products, and for growth through acquisitions.

One success story illustrative of the Company's strategy is the
S-Stent™. Coronary stents are metal-mesh tubes which are used to support blood vessels so as to prevent a narrowing (or stenosis) of the vessels following surgical angioplasty (or PTCA), among other applications.

In developing S-Stent™, Biosensors answered a large-scale market need for smaller stents. S-Stent™ has gained significant market acceptance as angioplasty and related procedures have become more common in Asia.

Another Company success story is the Challenge everolimus-eluting stent that Biosensors sold to medical devices giant Guidant Corporation in March, 2003. The body's natural reaction to the presence of a foreign object, such as a coronary stent, is to proliferate new tissue around it. This restenosis, defined as re-narrowing of the vessels after surgical procedures such as PTCA or stent implantation, can reverse the surgical benefit of improved blood flow, and can even call for repeat surgery, which in some individual cases may not be practicable.

With the drug-eluting stent, drugs coated on the stent are gradually dissolved ("eluted") into surrounding tissues to prevent post-surgical restenosis. Drug-eluting stents, by supplying drugs to prevent tissue build-up, can better address the problem of restenosis than bare-metal devices.

Other Company products include state-of-the-art Thermodilution Catheters, Embolectomy Catheters and Transducers.

Biosensors International Group, through its Biosensors subsidiaries, is now positioned as a leading international research and development, manufacturing and marketing company, distributing a full range of cardiovascular products to burgeoning Asia-Pacific markets and worldwide.

Accreditations:

• 1994 - Audited and approved in Australia
• 1994 - U.S. FDA and GMP certified as a medical manufacturer
• 1996 - ISO 9001 certification
• 1998 - Awarded RWTUV (CE Mark) certification by European auditors

At A Glance...