Access Scientific Secures Seed Financing
Vascular Access Device Innovator to Introduce Next-Generation Products

NEW YORK, NY, June 8, 2004 - Access Scientific, an early stage healthcare company developing vascular access devices to simplify and improve peripheral and central vascular access and infusion therapy procedures, while advancing patient care, today announced that it has closed a seed round of financing provided by Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures. The size of the round was not disclosed.

Access Scientific's initial suite of products are based on novel and highly-advanced technology developed by noted vascular access authority, Dr. Michael Tal, Assistant Professor of Radiology at the Yale University School and Medicine, and licensed from Yale University.

"The OneStep™ vascular access device, Access Scientific's lead product, represents a major new advance in the vascular access device market," said Dr. David Solomon, Medical Director of Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures, adding, "By combining multiple components into one product, OneStep simplifies and improves vascular access in interventional cardiology and radiology, vascular surgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine and nephrology. OneStep dramatically reduces the number of steps required to gain vascular access, and eliminates the need for exchanges and threading wires, needles and dilators, improves patient safety by reducing the risk of bleeding, saves procedure time, eliminates the need for a sterile field, and is the first passive, central access device to meet federally mandated healthcare worker safety laws.."

The markets for vascular access devices far surpass the $1 billion mark, and specifically the addressable markets for Access Scientific's vascular access devices exceed $400 million. "The vascular access device market has been characterized by a high level of standardization with respect to product characteristics, in addition to a low level of differentiation," comments David Geliebter, Carrot Capital's Managing Partner. "As a result, many of the market segments are experiencing a competitive environment increasingly based on price. Access Scientific's innovative product suite is the first to offer significant advancements in vascular access device technology."

Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures is part of Carrot Capital, a New York City-based venture capital group. Carrot Capital Healthcare Ventures' mission is to help healthcare entrepreneurs accelerate their business development, compress critical milestones, build high caliber management teams, and create successful enterprises. The fund has a two-fold investment strategy: to serve as lead investors in seed and early stage healthcare companies, and to license and commercialize healthcare technology from universities and research institutions.