Chindex Press Room

U.S. - CHINA INDUSTRIAL EXCHANGE (CHINDEX) ANNOUNCES
EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT WITH PLC MEDICAL SYSTEMS, AG

BETHESDA, MARYLAND - February 19, 1998 - U.S. -CHINA INDUSTRIAL EXCHANGE, INC. (NASDAQ:CHDX), the largest independent American distributor of Western healthcare products in the People’s Republic of China, today announced an exclusive agreement with PLC Medical Systems, AG, for the distribution of PLC’s The Heart Laser™ System to cardiac care centers and hospitals in China. PLC Medical Systems is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin, MA-based PLC Systems (ASE:PLC). The Heart Laser System is a patented and innovative technology for Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR), a new cardiosurgical procedure with the potential to provide patients suffering from coronary artery disease with a third alternative to angioplasty and cardiac bypass surgery. According to Chindex President and CEO Roberta Lipson, first shipments will begin in the second half of 1998.

Lipson commented in Beijing, "Our agreement with PLC further demonstrates the confidence major medical device and healthcare products companies have in our ability to effectively market, deliver and support sophisticated medical equipment in China. The Heart Laser System has tremendous market potential in China, and provides a new and innovative therapy for ischemic heart disease, which has growing acceptance worldwide."

PLC Systems President and CEO William C. Dow said, "We believe Chindex is the premier medical marketing company in China today, and the best entity that can effectively establish and build a nation-wide installed base for The Heart Laser System in China. Our agreement with Chindex enables us to expand The Heart Laser System into a vast new cardiac marketplace."

PLC’s Heart Laser System is a heart-synchronized, high-powered, computer-controlled carbon dioxide (CO2) laser that places channels into oxygen-deprived heart muscle of coronary artery disease patients. Recovery is generally quicker than that following bypass surgery. No blood transfusion is needed, and since the procedure is performed on a beating heart, there is no need for a heart-lung machine. The characteristics of The Heart Laser System surgery offer the potential of cost savings for the hospital and increased quality of life for the patient.

Lipson added, "We have been active in the cardiology and cardiosurgical market segments for more than 15 years in China. We will continue to capitalize on our extensive contacts throughout the cardiac care community in China to accomplish our goal of bringing The Heart Laser System into common use in heart centers across the country."

In the U.S., PLC has been granted expedited review of its PreMarket Approval (PMA) application for TMR using the Heart Laser to treat cardiac patients with medically refractory angina who are not candidates for angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).

According to The World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the world. In 1993, it was responsible for 4.3 million deaths. Cardiovascular disease will have an increasing and massive impact on China in terms of economic costs and burden of illness. TMR offers a lower cost and minimally invasive approach to treating coronary artery disease (CAD), particularly in Asian patients where the nature of CAD is quite often multiple and diffuse and difficult to treat by conventional methods.

Chindex is the largest independent American distributor of healthcare products and services, to the Greater Chinese marketplace, including Hong Kong and Macau. It provides representative and distribution services to a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Acuson and Johnson & Johnson. The Company also operates a private hospital corporation in China that is building a network of international-style hospitals and outpatient facilities in five major metropolitan areas of China. The first of these hospitals, Beijing United Family Hospital, began admitting patients early this year.

PLC Systems Inc. is a cardiac revascularization company developing medical systems and technology with the potential to provide patients suffering from coronary artery disease a third alternative to angioplasty and cardiac bypass surgery. PLC Medical Systems, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLC Systems Inc., has developed The Heart Laser which uses PLC’s patented technology for a new cardiosurgical procedure known as Transmyocardial

Revascularization. The Company has been granted expedited review of its PreMarket Approval application for TMR using The Heart Laser to treat cardiac patients with medically refractory angina who are not candidates for angioplasty or bypass surgery.

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U.S.-China Industrial Exchange, Inc. (Chindex) provides market representation, sales and consulting services in China to a number of multinational and Fortune 500 companies including Volvo Construction Equipment, Ingersoll-Rand, Acuson, Johnson & Johnson and Kendall. With over sixteen years experience, 135 employees, and operations in the United States, China and Hong Kong, the Chindex strategy is to expand its cross-cultural reach by providing leading edge technologies, quality products and services to Greater China's growing professional communities. Chindex is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol CHDX.