RETRACTABLE TECHNOLOGIES WINS GOVERNMENT CONTRACT FOR SAFETY SYRINGES

Retractable Technologies has been awarded its second major U.S. government contract to provide VanishPoint safety syringes under the Bush administration's Global HIV/AIDS initiative.

Under the terms of the contract, awarded in connection with Phase II of the syringe program, Retractable will supply at least 11.7 million of its automated retraction syringes to Haiti and seven African nations: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. The company received its first contract through the program in August 2004; the new award includes Uganda and Haiti in addition to the original six African countries.

Countries included in the initiative were given the opportunity to evaluate and select the syringes they preferred from among all of those that met the program's bid requirements. VanishPoint safety devices are designed to prevent reuse, as well as eliminate accidental needlestick injuries and minimize hazardous medical waste, a major problem in developing countries.