U.S. Department of Defense Picks New QuikClot Combat Gauze as First-Line Hemostatic Treatment for All Military Services

Z-Medica Corporation (Z-Medica), a medical products company focused on innovative blood clotting nano-technologies, announced that the United States Department of Defense has selected the company's newest hemostatic product, QuikClot Combat Gauze brand, for all military services as the first-line hemostatic treatment for life-threatening hemorrhage that is not amenable to tourniquet placement.

Bleeding is the number one cause of death for soldiers injured in battle and QuikClot products offer the most effective solution to severe blood loss outside the operating room setting. They have been proven in battlefield use and, with more than one million units deployed, are the leading hemostatic agents in the field.

The Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC) made the decision to recommend QuikClot Combat Gauze after reviewing test reports on a number of hemostatic products. QuikClot Combat Gauze was the only one of these products tested by both the Naval Medical Research Center and the U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research. In addition to test efficacy, the committee sited a number of other factors in according QuikClot Combat Gauze the number one position:

• Preference for the gauze delivery format, which is familiar to combat medical personnel.
• Ability of QuikClot Combat Gauze to be shaped to any wound and to reach bleeding vessels in penetrating wounds.
• Ease of removal once hemostasis has been achieved.

"Z-Medica's approach to product innovation has always been to listen to the voice of our customer and to focus our research & development efforts on delivering life-saving products that meet their needs," said Z-Medica CEO Raymond J. Huey. "With QuikClot Combat Gauze we have provided a product that is virtually 100% effective in a very intuitive format that can be applied quickly and simply by anyone."

QuikClot Combat Gauze combines surgical gauze with a proprietary inorganic material that stops arterial and venous bleeding in seconds -- even more rapidly in this format than earlier Z-Medica products. Based on a different mineral than zeolite-based QuikClot products, it generates no heat. It shares the benefit of being inert and non-allergenic. QuikClot Combat Gauze comes in rolls four yards long by three inches wide.

In addition to the military testing, the new product was tested in pre-clinical trials at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Massachusetts Medical School and at various field facilities. It has 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The United States Department of Defense has awarded Z-Medica a $3.2 million grant for large-scale testing of the product on penetrating wounds. These multi-center clinical trials will take place during 2008.

Earlier QuikClot products are in use by all branches of the U.S. Military, by first responders and security agencies across the U.S. and in 36 countries worldwide, with more than a million units in distribution. Z-Medica recently launched its first products for consumers.

Founded in April 2002, Z-Medica Corporation is a medical products company focused on innovative blood clotting technologies -- hemostatic solutions that save lives. QuikClot was developed in cooperation with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command and university hospitals. It represents the first and most effective solution to severe blood loss outside the operating room setting. Z-Medica serves several global vertical markets, including military, first responder, homeland and private security. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Grants & Training added 'hemostatic agent' to its 2006 Authorized Equipment List (AEL), qualifying QuikClot for purchase using grant dollars, subject to each State's administrative agency's approval. And, in 2007, the National Tactical Officers Association gave the company and its new products their coveted official seal of "NTOA member tested and approved". In addition to QuikClot Combat Gauze, the company is fully engaged in accelerating the development and distribution of QuikClot brand hemostatic agent, QuikClot ACS+, QuikClot 1st Response, QuikClot Sport, QuikClot Sport Silver (antimicrobial) and related products.

Z-Medica headquarters is located at 4 Fairfield Blvd., Wallingford, Connecticut 06492. For more information, please call (203) 294.0000 or visit http://www.z-medica.com.