Human bionics company reorganizes to enable expansion of research

Quebec, QC – January 20, 2004 – Benoit Cte, president and chief executive officer of Victhom Human Bionics says the company has created three operational divisions, called BioTronix, NeuroBionix and MetoBionix. He says these new divisions will allow for efficiency improvements in the technological development of products and will facilitate more organized and better targeted management of R&D activities.

Victhom’s prosthetics division, to be renamed the BioTronix, is already known for its initial development of a bionic leg. In May 2003, the division entered into a partnership agreement with Ossur, in order to develop future versions of the leg and other prosthetics products.

The newly created NeuroBionix division will develop neurotechnology bionic devices involving neurosensor implants and neurostimulators. It will be dedicated to measuring the electric activity and the electric stimulation of the peripheral and central nervous systems. These new devices will contribute to returning a normal quality of life to individuals suffering from dysfunctions such as partial paralysis, incontinence problems and chronic pain. This division would also have the responsibility of integrating these technologies into the prosthetics field.

The MetoBionix division will be dedicated to developing and studying biomaterials and biocompatible active materials that have mechanical properties enabling them to be modified to simulate functions of the human body. Shape memory materials as well as porous biomaterials will make up the priority development targets for bone integration, bone replacement and muscular assistance applications in cases of loss of autonomy.

“The creation of these divisions enables us to define the scope of operations for the R&D work upon which the company is founded,” says Stphane Bdard, Victhom’s founder and chief scientific officer. “This new structure will help us meet, in the most efficient and best targeted way, the considerable market needs of, among others, the aging population and the consequences of various diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular accidents.”