Haemonetics and Octapharma AG Announce Plasma Collection Technology Contract

BRAINTREE, Mass., May 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Haemonetics Corporation and Octapharma AG announced today the signing of a multi-year supply contract appointing Haemonetics as Octapharma's preferred provider of plasma collection technology in the United States. Under the agreement, Octapharma will use Haemonetics' technology to separate plasma from donor blood at its U.S. plasma collection centers. Plasma is the source of numerous proteins used for drug development and therapeutic purposes. These proteins include albumin, clotting factors, and intravenous immunoglobulin ("IVIG").

Octapharma, a Swiss-based company, is an independent plasma fractionation specialist, the largest privately owned plasma products company in the world. One of the top global plasma fractionators, Octapharma reported fiscal 2006 sales of euro 752 million with 37% growth year over year and has averaged revenue growth of 20% since 1995. The company owns five state of the art fractionation facilities in Austria, France, Sweden, Germany, and Mexico.

"In order to meet the increasing demand for Octapharma bio-pharmaceutical products, a key focus of the company is to extend production capacities in all our facilities. Octapharma has already started its partial vertical integration of owning plasma centers in Europe and the U.S., and it is our goal to source 50% of the plasma needed from our own centers by 2010," said Karl Erik Clausen, Chief Financial Officer of Octapharma. "Through our U.S. subsidiaries, Plasma Procurement Services, Inc. will secure Octapharma's supply of source plasma in the United States and Octapharma is pleased to be expanding its relationship with Haemonetics."

Stephen Swenson, General Manager of Global Plasma for Haemonetics, said, "Octapharma is a premier global plasma collector and fractionator, and it is the fastest growing company in the industry. We have been extremely pleased with the results relating to the European agreement we signed with Octapharma last year and are delighted to be expanding our relationship into the U.S."

Haemonetics is a global healthcare company dedicated to providing innovative blood management solutions for our customers. Together, our devices and consumables, information technology platforms, and consulting services deliver a suite of business solutions to help our customers improve clinical outcomes and reduce the cost of healthcare for blood collectors, hospitals, and patients around the world. Our technologies address important medical markets: blood and plasma component collection, the surgical suite, and hospital transfusion services. To learn more about Haemonetics, visit our web site at http://www.haemonetics.com/.

CONTACT: Julie Fallon Tel. (781) 356-9517 Alternate Tel. (617) 320-2401 fallon@haemonetics.com