[LOGO] [COOPER COMPANIES LETTERHEAD]
NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT:
NORRIS BATTIN
THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC.
[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COOPER COMPANIES UNIT TO DISTRIBUTE NORLAND OSTEOPOROSIS BONE
MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS
LAKE FOREST, Calif., November 6, 2000 -- The Cooper Companies, Inc (NYSE:COO)
announced today that its CooperSurgical (CSI) women's healthcare unit has signed
an agreement with Norland Medical Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: NRLD) to exclusively
distribute Norland bone measurement systems to the obstetrics and gynecology
market in the U.S. Terms were not announced. CSI expects additional revenue in
the range of $2 million to $3 million in fiscal 2001 from this line of products.
Bone measurement systems are used in the evaluation of osteoporosis, a condition
that affects 28 million Americans, 80 percent of whom are women, and that is
responsible for more deaths than breast, ovarian and uterine cancer combined.
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, this number is expected to
increase to 41 million by 2015 if the disease is left unchecked.
Commenting on the agreement, A. Thomas Bender, CEO of The Cooper Companies said,
"CSI's direct sales force of 30 representatives in the U.S. will allow us to
pursue aggressively this large segment of the women's healthcare market. Given
the widespread and growing prevalence of this disease, I believe that
osteoporosis testing should become a part of every women's routine physical
examination."
Norland Medical Systems, Inc. develops, sells and services a wide range of bone
measurement systems used to assess bone mineral content and density, one of
several factors used by physicians to aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of
bone disorders, particularly osteoporosis. Norland also markets and services
other musculoskeletal devices used in sports medicine, rehabilitative medicine
and in pain management to treat, muscles and ligaments, as well as lithotripters
used in urology to treat kidney stones.
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CooperSurgical, Inc., with operations in Shelton, Conn., Boca Raton, Fla.,
Montreal and Berlin, markets diagnostic products, surgical instruments and
accessories used primarily by gynecologists and obstetricians. Its Web address
is www.coopersurgical.com. CooperVision, Inc., markets a broad range of contact
lenses for the vision care market. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., it
manufactures in Huntington Beach, Calif., Rochester, N.Y., Hamble, England and
Toronto. Its Web address is www.coopervision.com.
The Cooper Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market
specialty healthcare products. Corporate offices are located in Lake Forest and
Pleasanton, Calif. A toll free interactive telephone system at 1-800-334-1986
provides stock quotes, recent press releases and financial data. The Cooper
Companies' World Wide Web address is www.coopercos.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the information included in this press release contains "forward-looking
statement" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The forward-looking statements include certain statements pertaining to our
(including our subsidiaries') capital resources, performance and results of
operations. In addition, all statements regarding anticipated growth in our
revenue, and anticipated market conditions and results of operations are
forward-looking statements. To identify forward-looking statements look for
words like "believes," "expects'," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends,"
"plans," "estimates " or "anticipates" and similar words of phrases. Discussions
of strategy, plans or intentions often contain forward-looking statements.
These, and all forward-looking statements, necessarily depend on assumptions,
data or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise.
Events, among others, that could cause actual results and future actions to
differ materially from those described by or contemplated in forward-looking
statements include major changes in business conditions, major disruption in the
operations of our manufacturing facilities, new competitors or technologies, the
impact of an undetected virus on our computer systems, acquisition integration
delays or costs, foreign currency exchange exposure, investments in research and
development and other start-up projects, dilution to earnings per share from
acquisitions or issuing stock, regulatory issues, significant environmental
cleanup costs above those already accrued, litigation costs, a significant
asset, changes in accounting principles or estimates, and other factors
described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the
"Business" section in our Annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended October
31, 2000. We caution investors not to rely on forward-looking statements. They
reflect our analysis only on their stated date or the date of this release. We
disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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