HOOFDDORP, Netherlands, and NORCROSS, Ga., May 20—SurgiLance™, the designer and manufacturer of the One-Step Safety Lancet, has announced the name of its next medical product distributor within the European Union (EU).

Reto-Med of Holland will be distributing the One-Step Safety Lancet throughout the Netherlands.

Though a young company, Reto-Med brings many advantages to the continued spread of the One-Step Safety Lancet within Europe. Along with a dedicated and focused sales team, Reto-Med brings their experience and familiarity with Dutch hospital protocol.

An initial trial of the One-Step with hospitals, blood banks and home care providers in the Netherlands indicated that nearly 85 percent of those who had tried the safety lancets prefer them to current blood sampling devices.

Due to the attitudes in the Netherlands towards safety as a whole, the SurgiLance/Reto-Med relationship is poised to take advantage of the growing safety lancet market. Reto-Med is forecasting that the collaboration could yield an estimated 15-percent market share within the safety lancet category within the next few years.

The agreement with Ret-Med is the latest in a string of events that began at the beginning of 2004, when SurgiLance signed a logistics agreement with Frans Mass, a global leader in freight forwarding and warehousing.

In February 2004, SurgiLance obtained the European manufacturing endorsement called the CE Mark and the One-Step was officially made available to the EU market.

Last month, SurgiLance signed their first distribution agreement with Diagnostica Diatest GmbH of Switzerland.

Ed. note: This release was published prior to MediPurpose™ changing its name from its prior company name—SurgiLance—in 2006.