Monday April 24

SOURCE: RITA Medical Systems, Inc.

RITA Receives Clearance for Unresectable Liver Patients

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- RITA Medical Systems, Inc. announced today that it received clearance on March 27, 2000 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its radiofrequency (RF) products for the ablation of non-resectable liver lesions. The company noted that non-resectable lesions represent the majority of all liver lesions, according to the clinical literature. RITA believes it is the first RF company to receive a liver-specific clearance in the United States. In March, RITA launched its newest product, the RITA Model 1500 Generator and Starburst line of needle electrode accessories, at the Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA. This system includes the first deployable electrode designed to create ablations up to 5 cm in diameter using real time tissue temperature feedback.

RITA also announced that a scientific study was recently published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology entitled ``Local Recurrence After Laparascopic Radiofrequency Thermal Ablation of Hepatic Tumors,'' by Allan Siperstein, MD, et. al. Dr. Siperstein, a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, concludes in his article that ablation using RITA's system ``seems to be a safe and effective treatment technique for patients with primary and metastatic liver malignancies.'' The study involved the use of the RITA system on 181 liver lesions in patients who were not candidates for surgical resection.

RITA Medical Systems, Inc. is a privately held medical device company which develops, markets and sells products used to destroy benign and cancerous tumors. The company's products are marketed throughout the world including the United States, Europe and Asia. In the United States, RITA's products are cleared for the ablation of soft tissue, including unresectable liver lesions.