Re Agreement

Aortech International PLC
23 May 2001

                          AORTECH INTERNATIONAL PLC



                   TruCCOMS European Distribution Agreement

                 TruCOMMS adopted by two key European centres



AorTech International plc ('AorTech' or the 'Company'), the Scottish-based
developer and manufacturer of cardio-vascular devices and biomaterials, today
announces the signing of a distribution agreement for its TruCCOMS Continuous
Cardiac Output Monitoring System with BD ('Becton, Dickinson and Company') one
of the world's leading medical device companies. The distribution agreement is
exclusive for the Europe and Middle East markets. The TruCCOMS system, which
is unique, provides real time continuous cardiac output monitoring for
patients in the critical care environment.

Eddie McDaid, Chief Executive AorTech International plc, commented:

'This agreement will enable AorTech to implement and expand the marketing and
sales of our TruCCOMS products throughout Europe and the Middle East via the
substantial resources of BD sales network. We have already made initial sales
in these areas and surgeons and clinicians are already recognising the
benefits of our TruCCOMS system in the control of management of patients in
the critical care environment.'

Bill Marshall, VP, Infusion and Technique Products for BD said:

'Our early assessment of the TruCCOMS system indicates the potential market
impact which AorTech's real time continuous cardiac output monitoring system
will provide for patients in the critical care environment. TruCCOMS will be
added to our own product lines in the critical care environment and will form
a key focus of our European sales team efforts.'

In addition, two key centres in Europe have adopted AorTech's new pulmonary
artery catheter technology (TruCCOMS) within the critical area of coronary
artery by-pass graft surgery (CABG).

The Badoyenhausen Hertz Centre in Germany has begun the use of TruCCOMS during
some routine CABG surgery. Badoyenhausen Hertz Centre performs more than four
thousand five hundred open heart procedures per year and currently uses two
and a half thousand pulmonary artery catheters per year. It is one of the
largest heart centres in the world and also excels in the areas of heart
transplantation, paediatric heart surgery and implantation of heart assist
devices.

 Professor Koerfer, the chief cardiac surgeon of the centre said:

'During routine CABG surgery TruCCOMS accurately reflected changes in cardiac
output as each new graft was attached. The speed of response was particularly
important to us where changes in cardiac output were displayed within
seconds.'

The Villa Maria Hospital Group in Italy has also adopted the TruCCOMS realtime
cardiac output monitoring system for use on patients undergoing off-pump CABG
surgery. The Villa Maria Group represents a consortium of 10 hospitals in
Italy and is the country's leader in international cardiology and vascular
surgery as well as cardio pulmonary surgery. The Group's hospitals together
perform more than 10% of the cardiac surgery done in Italy.

Dr Bruno Biagi, Vice President of the Groups Scientific department, explained
his decision to adopt the new system saying:

'We evaluated TruCCOMS and found that its immediate response to cardiac
manipulations was particularly useful in tracking changes inflow during
off-pump surgery.... the monitor allowed us to guide surgery and provided
confirmation of the patency of the coronary grafts as they were completed. The
monitor quickly and accurately detects important changes in cardiac output.'

Off-pump CABG surgery is carried out by cardiac surgeons on the patient's
beating heart and is a procedure increasingly used by cardiac surgeons
throughout the world.

AorTech launched the initial sales of the TruCCOMS system in January 2001 and
sales have already been made in several countries.

                                                                   23 May 2001
ENQUIRIES:

AorTech International plc                            Tel: [phone]
Eddie McDaid, Chief Executive Officer

College Hill                                         Tel: [phone]
Michael Padley / Nicholas Nelson