NEWS RELEASE

Novation Releases Semi-Annual Cardiovascular Watch Report

Showcases Information on Some of the Newest Cardiovascular Innovations from EuroPCR

IRVING, TX; July 15, 2008 — Novation, the leading health care contracting services company of VHA Inc., University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) and Provista, LLC, today released the new issue of Cardiovascular Watch, a report showcasing information on many of the newest cardiovascular innovations featured at the 2008 EuroPCR Conference in Barcelona, Spain, May 13-16, 2008. Regarded as one of the leading annual percutaneous cardiovascular and peripheral vascular meetings in the world, the conference provides exposure to worldwide technology that could be introduced to the United States. The report features information gathered at the conference on products and practice trends in coronary, endovascular and surgical therapies. Novation shares this information to provide health care providers with insight regarding key and emerging trends and products.

"The device industry is rapidly evolving, and understanding this market is crucial to managing the procurement of these products," said Michael J Vintges, MS, FACCA, FAAMA, vice president contract and program services cardiovascular, imaging, capital, signature supplier, and physician preference at Novation. "Novation continuously gathers information about the latest product and practice trends for health care providers so that they can make informed decisions about the financial and clinical impact of the new technologies."

Novation’s focus at the meeting was on new technologies and techniques and their potential to effect U.S. health care. Some areas of emerging technology covered at this year’s scientific meeting:

Bifurcation Coronary Stents
Development efforts continue on bifurcation coronary stents. These novel devices are being developed to address the treatment options where a lesion exists at a site of a vessel side branch. These stents will be the next coronary devices introduced into the U.S.

Bioabsorbable Coronary Stents
These devices will be the next significant evolution of the coronary stent. Several companies are developing a bioabsorbable coronary stent.  It will be many years before any bioabsorbable stent is available in the United States.

Coronary Stents
The European market is saturated with drug-eluting and bare metal stent companies. The regulatory barrier to entry is low enough to allow for the large numbers of competitors in this device segment. Next-generation stents are the norm outside of the United States. Regulatory barriers in the U.S. are high and will prevent the majority of these stents from entering the United States

Chronic Total Occlusion Devices
This year’s meeting continued the focus on the revascularization of chronic total occluded, or CTO, lesions. Whether from the retrograde or antigrade approach, a large number of companies are involved in designing innovative devices.

PFO Closure Devices
The patent foramen ovale, or PFO, closure market is waiting on definitive clinical data. Current U.S. clinical trials are under way (PREMIUM [AGA Medical], REDUCE [Gore] and ESCAPE [St. Jude]) to better understand this procedure’s patient benefits and to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

The report is available at www.novationco.com/programs/cardiovascular_watch.pdf

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About Novation
Founded in 1998, Novation is the leading health care supply contracting company for more than 25,000 members of VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), two national health care alliances, and 5,500 members of Provista, LLC, representing 28,000 sites. Novation provides alliance members contract and price management and spend management services. Based in Irving, Texas, Novation develops and manages competitive contracts with more than 600 suppliers. VHA, UHC and Provista members used Novation contracts to purchased nearly $37.8 billion in 2009.

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