Third Wave Announces First European HPV Distribution Partners

MADISON, Wis., Jan. 8, 2008– Third Wave Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTI) today announced that Inverness Medical Iberica, the Spanish affiliate of Inverness Medical Innovations, will distribute Third Wave’s HPV high-risk screening test in Spain and Portugal.  Inverness Medical Iberica is a leader in the marketing of diagnostics to assist laboratory and health care professionals in both preventive and interventional medicine.


 


Third Wave also announced that four well-known regional distributors have been secured to distribute its HPV product in Italy.


 


“Third Wave has taken another significant step forward in our HPV commercialization plans with the appointment of our first European HPV test distributors,” said Kevin T. Conroy, president and chief executive of Third Wave.  “Inverness Medical Iberica provides Third Wave with a well-established, substantial sales force in Spain and Portugal, both key countries driving HPV testing growth in Europe.  We look forward to bringing our HPV high-risk screening test to market in those countries through Inverness Medical this year.


 


“Third Wave is just as pleased to have secured Italian distribution of our HPV product through a team of outstanding and well-recognized regional distributors in that country,” Mr. Conroy said.  “We continue to negotiate with potential distributors for each of the other major markets in Europe and look forward to having them in place soon.”


 


The company recently announced that its HPV high-risk screening test has achieved European CE Marking certification.  The test detects the presence of 14 high-risk types of human papillomavirus, or HPV, the virus that causes nearly all cervical cancers.  The test is used in the routine screening of women for cervical cancer.


 


Cervical cancer strikes nearly half a million women each year worldwide, claiming a quarter of a million lives, according to the National Cancer Institute.


 


For more information about Inverness Medical and its products, please visit the company’s website at www.invernessmedical.es.


 


About Third Wave Technologies


 


Third Wave develops and markets molecular diagnostic reagents for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications to meet the needs of our customers. The company offers a number of products based on its Invader® chemistry for clinical testing. Third Wave offers in vitro diagnostic kits, and analyte specific, general purpose, and research use only reagents for nucleic acid analysis. For more information about Third Wave and its products, please visit the company’s website at www.twt.com.