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Portland Orthopaedics' $1.58m hip and cup order for US market - Portland's first big order

30 / 08 / 2006

30 August 2006, Sydney, Australia: Portland Orthopaedics Limited (ASX:PLD) has received a further significant order from US distributor Plus Orthopedics Inc requesting $1.58 million of primary hip replacements and cups. Deliveries will begin in September 2006. This order is in addition to the recently received orders valued at $440k for Portland's DTC revision hip.

Portland's M-COR primary hip has the advantage of modular design and a distinct neck component, that improves the fit and adjustability of a primary hip replacement and which can lead to increased longevity of the implant. The M-COR primary hip has a traditional fixation method that is very familiar to orthopaedic surgeons, but has unique and patented methods for assisting the surgeon to obtain ideal alignment for each patient's anatomy. The product and instrumentation was designed by Portland's Australian team in combination with the US Clinical Advisory Panel. All implant manufacturing is localised in Sydney, Australia.

Portland's Equator Plus hip cup is press fit into the pelvis and can be used with most other companies' hip replacement stems. The Equator Plus has the advantage that the polyethylene liner insert has a solid metal backing, which potentially prevents wear particles from escaping through the screw holes at the back of the cup. Hence Portland's product is expected to reduce the bone's exposure to wear particles and increase the life of the implant.

Portland has ramped up its manufacturing to meet the order and is taking other measures to expand manufacturing capacity.

"This single order exceeds the company's total US revenue in the year to June 2005," said Mr David Sekel, CEO of Portland Orthopaedics.

"Our core strategies are now to increase manufacturing capacity, expand our sales territories and commercialise our newest products."

Plus Orthopedics Inc is contracted to distribute Portland's products including the DTC revision hip, the M-COR primary hip, the Asian hip series and the Equator Plus Cup across the US for at least three years.

Plus Orthopedics AG is headquartered in Switzerland and is the world's sixth largest joint implants company. It operates in 22 countries and has a fully established distribution infrastructure in 29 states across the US.

Enquiries:
David Sekel
Portland Orthopaedics
0411 120 744

or

Rudi Michelson
Monsoon Communications
0411 402 737