Synthes Reports Local Currency Sales Growth of 10.0% for Third Quarter 2009 and Maintains Double-Digit Sales Growth through First Nine Months 2009

Synthes (SWX: SYST.VX) today announced its Third Quarter and First Nine Months 2009 sales results with growth of 7.5% and 5.2%, respectively (10.0% and 10.3%, respectively, in local currency [LC]).

Third Quarter 2009

# Consolidated sales of US$ 868.3 million increased by US$ 60.6 million vs. prior year (PY)
# North America sales growth continued to accelerate in spite of ongoing economic challenges
# Asia Pacific maintained strong growth momentum due to solid performance in Japan and developing markets
# «Rest of World» growth slowed due to the absence of significant Middle Eastern tender orders, which favorably impacted previous year’s third quarter
# Synthes was awarded a permanent injunction and enhanced damages by a U.S. District Court in the ProDisc®-L patent case against Medtronic
# Synthes entered into a strategic agreement with Kensey Nash Corporation, allowing Synthes to market a unique porcine dermis-based extracellular matrix product

First Nine Months 2009

# Consolidated sales of US$ 2,504.3 million increased by US$ 123.1 million vs. PY (US$ 244.7 million in LC)
# North America’s growth was driven by new products across all product groups and superior customer service from the sales force despite a recessionary U.S. economy
# Europe and Asia Pacific achieved double-digit sales growth in all product groups

Michel Orsinger, President and CEO of Synthes, comments on the performance:
“We are pleased with our third quarter sales results, especially with North America returning to double-digit growth. This is a result of new product introductions and of our sales force providing high quality services to our customers.”