AFINION™ POINT-OF-CARE SYSTEM FROM AXIS-SHIELD PLC IS SELECTED AS A WINNER IN THE 2006 MEDICAL DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARDS COMPETITION

Axis-Shield (LSE:ASD, OSE:ASD), the international in vitro diagnostics company, today announces that its novel AFINION™ Point-of-Care System has been selected as a winner in the US-based Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) competition, the prestigious awards programme for the medical technology community.

The awards recognize the many people including engineers, scientists, designers, and clinicians, who are responsible for the groundbreaking innovations that are changing the face of healthcare. MDEA-winning entries excel in the areas of product innovation, design and engineering achievement, end-user benefit, and cost-effectiveness in manufacturing and healthcare delivery. Whether the product can change traditional medical attitudes or practices and the ability of the product development team to overcome design and engineering challenges so that the product meets its clinical objectives, are particularly relevant in the judging process. A comprehensive review of the entries was performed by an impartial, multidisciplinary panel of third-party jurors with expertise in biomedical engineering, human factors, industrial design, medicine, and diagnostics.

Svein Lien, Axis-Shield CEO, commented: “We are very pleased that our AFINION™ System has been recognised in this way and that our significant investment in this ground-breaking platform to improve diagnosis at the point of care has achieved this US accolade. It complements the earlier European acknowledgement we achieved through our award for innovation from Den Norske Bank in Norway. We believe customers and patients will appreciate the elegance and accuracy of AFINION™ and its ability to deliver quick test results using a very simple procedure, when we launch the product in the USA later this year.”