Straumann aligns implant production with slower market growth

Basel, 26 November 2008: Throughout the past decade Straumann has ramped up its global production capabilities to meet the strongly growing demand for dental implants worldwide. Based on market growth in the mid teens and the introduction of its innovative clinically proven products, the company expanded production capacity further in the first half of the current year to cater for continuing dynamic growth. Group net revenue rose 22% in local currencies (17% CHF) in the first six months of 2008 and 11% (6% in CHF) in the third quarter 2008 putting it well ahead of the market.

As reported in October, the severity of the current economic situation has led to an unprecedented slowdown in the growth of the dental implant market. Although Straumann has continued to grow and outperform - despite the challenging circumstances, it is clear that its more recent expansion rate cannot support an organization that has been built up for significantly higher anticipated market growth.

As an immediate measure, the company announced today that it has initiated the process of introducing short-time work in production. The duration of this initiative and the possibility of further measures will obviously depend on market developments in the future, which are difficult to predict.

Straumann is very well positioned in terms of product portfolio, innovation, customer base, global reach and financial solidity. These competitive strengths and the underlying long-term attractiveness of the market make the company optimistic of continued success in the future.

Concerning forward looking statements
This release contains certain “forward-looking statements”, which can be identified by the use of terminology such as “will”, “attractiveness”, “depend on market developments”, “long-term”, “optimistic”, “continued”, “in the future”, or similar wording. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include risks related to the success of and demand for the Group’s products, the potential for the Group’s products to become obsolete, the Group’s ability to defend its intellectual property, the Group’s ability to develop and commercialize new products in a timely manner, the dynamic and competitive environment in which the Group operates, the regulatory environment, changes in currency exchange rates, the Group’s ability to generate revenues and profitability, and the Group’s ability to realize its expansion projects in a timely manner. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this report. Straumann is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in it as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.