ZURICH, Switzerland, Jan. 27, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Nobel Biocare fully agrees with the information provided by the Swedish Medical Products Agency in Stockholm regarding the NobelDirect(r) implant: "The visiting clinicians and Nobel Biocare seem to interpret the results and their implications differently." This confirms earlier statements made by Nobel Biocare. "There is no problem with the quality of the product," says Heliane Canepa, President and CEO of Nobel Biocare. "In spite of the international coverage given to the allegations made by the two Swedish professors, we have not received any evidence supporting these allegations. Our own studies and the research we initiated immediately after the allegations show that the 98.3 percent survival rate achieved in clinical trials with NobelDirect(r) implants can be confirmed."
An expert report by Professor Daniel van Steenberghe of the University of Leuven in Belgium, initiated by Nobel Biocare and forwarded to the Swedish Agency, supports the Company's point of view. Prof. Steenberghe concludes that there could be different explanations such as a greater incidence of systemic factors, smoking habits and bruxism among the recruited patients in that particular centre. In his view, it could also be that the occlusal loading scheme or the surgical approach was different compared to other centers.
In addition to the three multi-center trials on one-piece dental implants currently in progress, Nobel Biocare has launched its own international research effort to obtain information about potential similar observations to those reported in Sweden. The data available so far represents a total of 3,597 implants.
In spite of repeated attempts Nobel Biocare has not yet succeeded in obtaining access to data used by the two professors.
Nobel Biocare is a medical devices group and the world leader in innovative esthetic dental solutions with its brands Branemark System(r), NobelSpeedy(tm), NobelReplace(tm), NobelPerfect(r), NobelDirect(r), Replace(r) Select, (dental implants) and Procera(r) (individualized dental prosthetics). Nobel Biocare is a one-stop shop for restorative esthetic dentistry, offering a wide range of innovative Crown and Bridge and Implant products, as well as training and education and clinically documented treatment concepts. Nobel Biocare has some 1,600 employees and recorded revenue of EUR 388 million in 2004. The company is domiciled in Zurich, Switzerland with headquarters in Zurich and in Gothenburg, Sweden. Production takes place at four production sites located in Sweden and the USA. Nobel Biocare has direct sales organizations in 29 countries. The shares of the parent company Nobel Biocare Holding AG are listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange and on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Sweden.