UTICA, N.Y., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CONMED Corporation (Nasdaq: CNMD) today announced that it will increase the size of its orthopedic sales force in the United States by approximately 25%. The U.S. orthopedic sales force will grow from 180 to 230 sales representatives. The increase is part of the Company's integration plan for Bionx Implants, Inc., acquired on March 10, 2003.

Bionx previously sold its sports medicine products through a network of independent sales distributors in the United States and had sales in 2002 of approximately $18 million. Effective April 1, 2003, the Bionx products will be integrated with CONMED's line of orthopedic products and will be sold through the Company's orthopedic subsidiary, Linvatec. The sales force expansion is planned to occur over the course of the next twelve months. Also effective April 1, 2003, CONMED has converted its 90 direct employee orthopedic sales representatives into nine independent sales agent groups. The Company will now have 18 exclusive orthopedic sales agent groups that will manage 230 sales representatives.

Mr. Joseph J. Corasanti, President and Chief Operating Officer of CONMED, said, "The increase in our sales force enables us to properly support the new Bionx business. We believe it will also permit greater sales penetration for all of our orthopedic products. We currently have approximately 180 sales professionals in the United States selling our orthopedic lines of arthroscopy and powered surgical instruments. This group will now increase in size to approximately 230 professionals, similar in size to other competitive groups."

Mr. Corasanti added, "We expect that the cost of increasing the size of the sales force will be offset by other synergistic cost reductions arising from the Bionx integration, particularly in the elimination of duplicate administration. Therefore, we continue to believe that the effects of the Bionx acquisition, including the increase in our sales force, with the exception of certain one-time acquisition and transition charges, will be neutral to earnings in 2003, and accretive thereafter. Without the sales force expansion, the Bionx acquisition would have been accretive to earnings per share by approximately $0.05 in the first twelve months following the closing."

CONMED is a medical technology company specializing in instruments, implants, and video equipment for arthroscopic sports medicine, and powered surgical instruments, such as drills and saws, for orthopedic, ENT, neuro-surgery, and other surgical specialties. The Company is also a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of RF electrosurgery systems used routinely to cut and cauterize tissue in nearly all types of surgical procedures worldwide, endoscopy products such as trocars, clip appliers, scissors, and surgical staplers. The Company offers integrated operating room design and intensive care unit service managers. The Company also manufactures and sells a full line of ECG electrodes for heart monitoring and other patient care products. Headquartered in Utica, New York, the Company's 2,500 employees distribute its products worldwide from eleven manufacturing locations.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on certain assumptions and contingencies that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and relate to the Company's performance on a going-forward basis. The forward-looking statements in this press release involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results, performance or trends, including the above mentioned anticipated revenues and earnings, to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements herein or in previous disclosures. The Company believes that all forward-looking statements made by it have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs or projections as expressed in the forward-looking statements will actually occur or prove to be correct. In addition to general industry and economic conditions, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to: (i) the failure of any one or more of the assumptions stated above, to prove to be correct; (ii) the risks relating to forward-looking statements discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002; (iii) cyclical purchasing patterns from customers, end-users and dealers; (iv) timely release of new products, and acceptance of such new products by the market; (v) the introduction of new products by competitors and other competitive responses; (vi) the possibility that any new acquisition or other transaction may require the Company to reconsider its financial assumptions and goals/targets; and/or (vii) the Company's ability to devise and execute strategies to respond to market conditions.

SOURCE  CONMED Corporation
    -0-                             04/07/2003
    /CONTACT:  Robert Shallish, Chief Financial Officer, CONMED Corporation,
+1-315-624-3206; Investors - Lauren Levine, or Lanie Fladell,
Media - Sean Leous, all of FD Morgen-Walke, +1-212-850-5600, for CONMED
Corporation/
    /Company News On-Call:  http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/201850.html /
    /Web site:  http://www.conmed.com /
    (CNMD)

CO:  CONMED Corporation; Bionx Implants, Inc.; Linvatec
ST:  New York
IN:  HEA MTC
SU:  TNM PER



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1872 04/07/2003 07:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com