Biophan and Siemens AG Announce a Declaration of Intent for Strategic Collaboration on Advanced Interventional MRI Technology

April 01, 2006 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
Biophan Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: BIPH - News; FWB: BTN), a developer of next-generation medical technology, announced today a declaration of intent to enter into negotiations for a strategic research collaboration between Siemens' Medical Solutions MRI Division in Europe and Biophan Europe GmbH, designed to provide new solutions in the growing field of interventional MRI medicine and MRI-assisted minimally invasive surgeries.

The anticipated collaboration follows discussions between senior officers of the two companies to further develop and commercialize potentially complementary Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies. Biophan Europe is emerging as a major force of innovative solutions to enable effective MRI visualization of implanted medical devices, including heart valves, coronary and peripheral stents and vena cava filters.

Siemens' MRI Division, in turn, has developed a new MRI scanning technology with aperture configurations that could be highly complementary to Biophan's research and development program in this area, according to Dr. Michael Friebe, CEO of Biophan-Europe.

"Siemens new 1.5 Tesla Open Bore MR MAGNETOM Espree with Tim technology, with its wide aperture, will be ideally suited for MRI-related interventional procedures, combined with our own expertise under Chief Technology Officer Dr. Andreas Melzer in positioning and interventional support hardware form a solid foundation for partnership and further joint development of medically needed MRI scanning solutions," Dr. Friebe said.

Currently, many implantable and surgical devices comprised of metallic elements are contraindicated for use with MRI due to their potential undesirable interactions with the powerful electromagnetic fields generated by MRI systems. To extend MRI to patients with implantable devices, who currently are denied access to MRI visualization, Biophan has developed a variety of proprietary technologies to enable MR imaging to visualize the interiors of stents and other implants, and to enable the MRI-guided implantation of devices.

"This exciting opportunity for Biophan to collaborate with Siemens marks another milestone in Biophan's growing technological and marketplace leadership," said Michael Weiner, CEO of Biophan Technologies. "We're excited about this opportunity to work with a company of Siemens' well-recognized leadership in medical imaging."

About Siemens

Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI - News), with headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Erlangen, Germany, is one of the largest suppliers to the healthcare industry in the world. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. More information can be obtained by visiting http://www.usa.siemens.com/medical.

About Biophan

Biophan develops and markets cutting-edge technologies for the medical device industry that provide competitive advantages. The Company's founding goal was to make all biomedical devices capable of safely and successfully working with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), problems which the Company has solved and begun to license to leading device manufacturers. The Company's mission has expanded to provide other technologies which will improve the delivery of healthcare. Biophan's technologies enable medical systems such as pacemakers, interventional surgical devices such as catheters and guidewires, and implants such as stents to be safely and/or effectively imaged under MRI. The Company is helping to commercialize the MYO-VAD(TM), a novel, MRI-compatible ventricular assist device which has significant potential to improve the treatment of many forms of acute and chronic heart disease. Other applications in development include drug delivery and power systems which derive energy from body heat. Committed to growth through innovation and developmental leadership, Biophan and its licensors now hold a total of 156 U.S. patents, licenses, or applications, plus international applications. This total includes 50 issued U.S. patents, 8 recently-allowed applications that will issue as patents in the near future, and 98 pending applications at various stages of examination at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patents cover areas including nanotechnology (nanomagnetic particle coatings), medical device designs, radio frequency filters, polymer composites, thermoelectric materials, and photonics. Biophan has joint development and licensing agreements with Boston Scientific Corporation and NASA's Ames Center for Nanotechnology. Biophan is traded on the OTC market under the symbol BIPH, and is also listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol BTN.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements reflect what Biophan anticipates, expects, or believes may happen in the future. Biophan's actual results could differ materially from the outcome or circumstance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors including, but not limited to: Biophan's ability to develop its technologies; the approval of Biophan's patent applications; the successful implementation of Biophan's research and development programs; the ability of Biophan to demonstrate the effectiveness of its technology; the acceptance by the market of Biophan's technology and products incorporating such technology, the ability of Biophan to effectively negotiate and enter into contracts with medical device manufacturers for the licensing of Biophan's technology; competition; the ability of Biophan to raise capital to fund its operating and research and development activities until it generates revenues sufficient to do so; and the timing of projects and trends in future operating performance, as well as other factors expressed from time to time in Biophan's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). As a result, this press release should be read in conjunction with Biophan's periodic filings with the SEC, which are incorporated herein by reference. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and Biophan undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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