Cook Pharmica LLC Ahead of Schedule on Hiring Employees

Bloomington, Ind. - Cook Pharmica LLC, a 124,000 square feet manufacturing enterprise announced by Cook Group Inc. in April 2004, has reached a major employment milestone more than three months ahead of schedule. As of this week, the company has more than 50 fulltime employees at its state-of-the-art biopharmaceutical contracting manufacturing plant on Bloomington's southwest side. Company officials had originally said they expected to have 50 employees in place by the end of this year.

"Things are moving forward very quickly, leading to the need for additional personnel as our facility nears completion of its first phase of construction," explained Jerry Arthur, president of Cook Pharmica LLC. "We've seen a remarkable turnaround here as we've converted the abandoned Thomson/RCA television assembly plant into a true 21st Century biopharmaceutical manufacturing operation. I'm thrilled with what's been accomplished so far by our employees and contractors and expect accelerated growth in the coming years."

Work continues at a rapid pace as expert crews put into place the final elements of the highly sophisticated plant, which will manufacture complex therapeutic products from bioengineered cells. The facility is on schedule to have major construction completed in October. Validation and commissioning work will then start in order to prepare the plant for commercial operations. Arthur said he expects that product manufacturing will begin in the second half of 2006. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility will be held Friday, October 28. For more information, visit www.cookpharmica.com.

"We are completing the first phase of our contract manufacturing facility and expect to expand our operations as demand for these products grows," explained Arthur.

The world's largest privately held manufacturer of medical devices with international headquarters in Bloomington, Ind., COOK® (www.cookmedical.com) is a leading designer, manufacturer and global distributor of minimally invasive medical device technology for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Since its founding in 1963, Cook has created innovative technologies for drug-eluting and bare metal stents, aortic and vascular endografts, catheters, wire guides, introducer needles and sheaths, embolization coils, medical biomaterials and contract manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, vena cava filters and other minimally invasive medical devices for radiology, cardiology, urology and OB/GYN, critical care medicine, surgery, gastroenterology, bone access and endovascular therapies.

MEDIA CONTACT:
David McCarty
Director of Public Relations
Cook Incorporated - 812-339-2235 ext. 2387
Email: dmccarty@cook-inc.com

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