Safety Needle Law Launched; Legislative and Regulatory Momentum Grows

Safety Needle Law Launched; Legislative and Regulatory Momentum Grows

Business Wire - July 6, 1999

VERNON, Conn.--(BW HealthWire)--July 6, 1999--California healthcare workers began breathing easier last week as the nation's first law mandating the use of safety needles went into effect on July 1st. The law requires that healthcare institutions provide workers with needles designed with 'engineered controls' to aid in protecting them from accidental needlesticks which can result in the transmission of deadly diseases including HIV and Hepatitis B and C.

Other states have passed needlestick legislation. Tennessee's governor signed that law on March 19. Texas Governor George Bush signed similar legislation on June 19, and New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman is expected to sign a bill mandating the use of safe needles within the next 30 days. On the national front, momentum toward mandating safe needles for health care workers continues to grow. In Washington, D.C., Representatives Pete Stark (D-California) and Marge Roukema (R-New Jersey) introduced a bill in the house mandating the use of safe needles for healthcare workers. To date, 82 additional members of Congress have added their support as co-sponsors, and Senators Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Harry Reid (D-Nevada) have introduced a mirror bill in the Senate.

On May 20, Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman announced OSHA's plans to protect healthcare workers from accidental needlesticks, saying: "It is time to make sure that healthcare workers have up-to-date medical devices that limit the risk of needlesticks and the potential for developing deadly diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis." He also said that OSHA will revise the bloodborne pathogens compliance directive later this year to reflect the newer and safer technologies now available.

"Legislative and regulatory actions are building the momentum for a nationwide mandate on safety needles," said Tom Sutton, Executive Vice President at Bio-Plexus, Inc. "As conventional, 'unsafe' needles are becoming obsolete, Bio-Plexus expects a strong growth trend. In the past quarter alone, over 100 new customers have committed to use our products. This is the largest quarterly increase in our customer base ever," Sutton concluded.

Bio-Plexus, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPLX), designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and holds U.S. and international patents on safety medical needles and other products under the PUNCTUR-GUARD(R) and DROP-IT(R) brand names. In a Centers for Disease Control study, Punctur-Guard Blood Collection Needles were found to reduce the rate of accidental needlesticks among healthcare workers by 76%, the highest rate of any device studied. Accidental needlesticks number about one million per year in the United States.

NOTE: THIS PRESS RELEASE MAY CONTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES. THE ACTUAL RESULTS MAY DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE DESCRIBED IN ANY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT AS A RESULT OF FACTORS DESCRIBED FROM TIME TO TIME IN THE COMPANY'S PERIODIC REPORTS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR DISCUSSED IN OTHER PRESS RELEASES ISSUED BY THE COMPANY.

--30--bs/bos*

CONTACT: Bio-Plexus, Inc. Carol Coburn 860.870.6112, extension 317 BIO.PLEXUS@SNET.NET
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