Supply and License Agreement

Aortech International PLC
20 March 2006


For Immediate Release                                              20 March 2006


                           AorTech International plc

                          ('Aortech' or the 'Company')


          Exclusive Supply and License Agreement with St Jude Medical


AorTech International plc (AIM:AOR), the biomaterials intellectual property and
licensing company, today announces that it has signed an exclusive licence and
supply agreement with St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) for the use of AorTech's
Elast-EonTM bio-material in the field of cardiac rhythm management leads.


The terms of the agreement include an initial upfront payment of $2 million to
AorTech, and optional payments of scheduled licence maintenance fees are payable
over the next two years.


The agreement relates to material supply and the grant of exclusive rights to
AorTech's proprietary technology Elast-EonTM in the fields of implantable
cardiac rhythm management leads and implantable neuromodulation devices. No
additional terms of this agreement were disclosed.


Frank Maguire, AorTech CEO, commented:

'The completion of this agreement with one of the world's leading medical device
companies represents the culmination of several years of collaborative work with
St. Jude Medical on ensuring the reliability and superior performance of
Elast-EonTM through a stringent regime of rigorous testing. In addition with
this agreement our new manufacturing facility will commence operations at
commercial scale.


'I remain confident that our Elast-EonTM bio-material represents a new material
technology platform for a wide range of implantable devices and the conclusion
of our agreement with St. Jude Medical represents the first significant step in
that process.'


For further information please contact:
AorTech International plc
Frank Maguire, Chief Executive                         Tel: + 1 801 201 4336

Buchanan Communications                                Tel: + 44 20 7466 5000
Ben Willey / Rebecca Skye Dietrich


About AorTech

AorTech International plc, is an AIM (Alternative Investment Market), London
listed company which wholly owns AorTech Biomaterials based in Melbourne,
Australia.


AorTech Biomaterials was formed in July 1997 to commercialise a range of medical
grade polyurethanes for medical implants developed by the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).


Visit AorTech's website at: www.aortech.com



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