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Smith & Nephew PLC: Smith & Nephew Announces European Launch of ACTICOAT* Flex

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^{Published in Health and Fitness on Tuesday, September 1st 2009 at 23:40 GMT by Market Wire}  

HULL, ENGLAND--(Marketwire - September 2, 2009) - Smith & Nephew's (NYSE: [ SNN ]) (LSE: SN) Advanced Wound Management division, announce the European launch of ACTICOAT™ Flex 3 and ACTICOAT™ Flex 7, to expand the ACTICOAT portfolio. The Flex range provides enhanced conformability to better address patient comfort and in utilizing the Silcryst™ nanocrystalline silver technology, ACTICOAT Flex products have been designed to support physicians dealing with soft tissue injuries at high risk of infection.

Both ACTICOAT Flex 3 and ACTICOAT Flex 7 were cleared for use by Health Canada in late 2008. Dr. Sarvesh Logsetty, MD, FRCSC, FACS, Director of Manitoba Firefighters Burn Unit and Associate Professor, Plastic & General Surgery at the University of Manitoba commented on the product's excellent performance characteristics. "ACTICOAT Flex is a natural addition to the brand of dressings I trust when treating patients with wounds highly susceptible to infection. These dressings are preferable when treating wounds in areas of the body that require a high level of conformability and when it is important to minimize trauma to the wound when removing the dressing," stated Dr. Logsetty. "The Flex dressing allows exudate to pass through, which is a great advantage," he explained.

"I am delighted that we can now offer our European clinicians this new version of ACTICOAT. ACTICOAT Flex will provide a more flexible and conformable option in dressing anatomical areas such as joints and helps manage the risk of infection in patients with serious wounds," said Andy Boyes, President Europe, Advanced Wound Management.

"The feedback on ACTICOAT Flex from the markets where it recently became available has been excellent," commented Roger Teasdale, President of Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Management. "We are committed to improving the quality of life of the patients treated with our products and ACTICOAT Flex, often being used in combination with other brands in our portfolio, is affecting that."

For more information regarding Smith & Nephew, please visit our Web site at [ http://www.smith-nephew.com ]

* Trademark of Smith & Nephew

™ Trademark of Nucryst Pharmaceuticals

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specializing in Orthopaedics, including Reconstruction, Trauma and Clinical Therapies, Endoscopy and Advanced Wound Management. Smith & Nephew is a global leader in arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global orthopaedics companies.

Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The Company prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with high standards of performance, innovation and trust. The Company operates in 32 countries around the world. Annual sales in 2008 were nearly $3.8 billion.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, statements regarding expected revenue growth and trading margins discussed under "Outlook" are forward-looking statements as are discussions of our product pipeline. These statements, as well as the phrases "aim," "plan," "intend," "anticipate," "well-placed," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "target," "consider" and similar expressions, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome of litigation, claims and regulatory approvals) that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Please refer to the documents that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of these factors.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person acting on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Smith & Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.