Defense Articles

Over-the-counter store brands continue to grow, thanks to a greater allotment of shelf space, a study published by Kline & Co. found. OTC private label brands accounted for a 20 percent share of the total market in 2003* Private label products showed the highest penetration in vitamins and first-aid items, accounting for more than 30 percent of category sales in 2003, the study noted.

Brian Mawhinney, the Secretary of State for Transport, has refused to consider making first-aid kits in cars compulsory despite evidence suggesting that nearly two out of five roadside deaths could be prevented by proper first aid. Speaking at the launch of a campaign to encourage people to carry kits, he said that involvement in first aid should be voluntary.

Empyrean Bioscience, Inc. (OTCBB:EMDG) received its first purchase order from Phar-Mor Inc., a retail/drugstore chain with a total of 140 store locations in 24 states operating under the names of “Phar-Mor,” “Pharmhouse” and “The Rx Place,” for Preventx(R) Hand Sanitizer and First Aid-Antiseptic.

As early as mid-November, two convenient sizes of the long-lasting, germ-fighting hand sanitizer and first-aid antiseptic product - a two-ounce bottle and an eight-ounce pump dispenser - will be available to Phar-Mor customers in Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Phar-Mor is debuting Preventx(R) at a total of 16 store locations - two in Youngstown/Austintown, Ohio and 14 in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.

“We’ve had great success test marketing this product because of its unique alcohol-free and long-lasting formula, which is unlike any other hand sanitizer in the category,” said Bennett S. Rubin, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Preventx(R) successfully competed against national brands in the estimated $850 million hand and body lotions category at a variety of retail/drugstore chains, such as Marc’s. Marc’s is a leading regional discount drug and general merchandise chain in Northeastern Ohio. Based on these past successes, national distribution at Phar-Mor stores looks positive.”

The alcohol-free hand sanitizer will be found in the home health section of Phar-Mor store locations, displayed in Empyrean’s new multi-purpose merchandiser. The multi-purpose merchandiser is a high impact, freestanding floor display unit covered with eye-appealing colors and graphics to build brand awareness and stimulate sales, and equipped with a product tester.

“Phar-Mor’s multiple retailing concepts make this a great entry for Preventx(R),” said Rubin. “The retail/drugstore business in all its varieties offers consumers a combination of healthful knowledge, convenience and value, and is an excellent setting for the alcohol-free, long-lasting formula of Preventx(R).”

Preventx(R) Hand Sanitizer and First-Aid Antiseptic kills 99.9% of all disease-causing germs for up to four hours. The alcohol-free, aloe-enriched formula is non-irritating and does not cause chapping or drying of the skin. It moisturizes and conditions skin while it sanitizes and is also a first-aid antiseptic to help heal minor cuts, scrapes and burns.

Having been popular for its alcohol-free and long-lasting capabilities, the product had its first success in sales to commercial and institutional customers and is currently being introduced to consumers nationwide at the retail level. The national introduction follows successful retail market testing of the new product.

Empyrean Bioscience, Inc. (OTCBB:EMDG) received its first purchase order from Giant Eagle, a supermarket chain with more than 140 full-service stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, for its alcohol-free Preventx(R) Hand Sanitizer and First-Aid Antiseptic.

As early as mid-November, two convenient sizes of the long-lasting, germ-fighting hand sanitizer and first-aid antiseptic — a two-ounce bottle and an eight-ounce pump dispenser — will be available to Giant Eagle customers in the tri-state area. Giant Eagle is debuting Preventx(R) in 15 store locations in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and Northeastern Ohio.

“Preventx(R) is unlike any other product in the hand sanitizing category,” said Bennett S. Rubin, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “The product’s alcohol-free, long-lasting formula has performed well in regional grocery chains, and based on a similar performance, we’re hoping that Giant Eagle will expand distribution to all store locations and offer the full line of Preventx(R) products. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. With flu vaccines expected to reach providers later than usual, Preventx(R) represents an especially important over-the-counter disease prevention product opportunity for Giant Eagle.”

Both the two- and eight-ounce sizes will be displayed in Empyrean’s new freestanding floor display. Introduced in mid-July, the retail-friendly multi-purpose display was designed to merchandise as either a floor or power-wing display, and can convert to a shelf or counter display unit as product sells through. The high-impact, freestanding floor display unit is covered with eye-appealing colors and graphics to build brand awareness and stimulate sales and is equipped with a product tester. Consumers will soon find the floor display loaded with Preventx(R) in the health and beauty-aids section of the select Giant Eagle store locations.

“Distribution of the Preventx(R) brand hand sanitizer in the strategically important grocery channel is continually growing,” said Rubin. “Giant Eagle is a pioneer grocer in the eastern region of the United States and is an ideal environment for a unique-to-the-category product like our Preventx(R) hand sanitizer and first-aid antiseptic.”

Preventx(R) Hand Sanitizer and First-Aid Antiseptic kills 99.9% of all disease-causing germs for up to four hours. The alcohol-free, aloe-enriched formula is non-irritating and does not cause chapping or drying of the skin. It moisturizes and conditions skin while it sanitizes and is also a first-aid antiseptic to help heal minor cuts, scrapes and burns.

Popular for its alcohol-free and long-lasting capabilities, the product had its first success in sales to commercial and institutional customers and is currently being introduced to consumers nationwide at the retail level including various regional grocery chains. The national introduction follows successful retail market testing of the new product.

Empyrean Bioscience is a consumer products company specializing in the marketing, sale and distribution of innovative personal care products designed to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The company markets its products under the Preventx(R) and Coleman(R) brand names. For more information, see www.empyreanbio.com.

This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statement regarding “hoping that Giant Eagle will expand distribution to all store locations and offer the full line of Preventx(R) products” is forward-looking in nature. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks include, among other factors, the acceptability of the potential product in the marketplace, and the ability to obtain sufficient capital to fund operations. Additional factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations in the forward-looking statements, are set forth in the Company’s Form 10K-SB annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Unilever last month pushed into the first-aid market with its established Q-tips brand with Q-tips Treat & Go, an antibiotic/cotton swab combo. The dry Q-tips swabs are individually wrapped with a single-use packet of Bacitracin ointment. Q-tips Treat & Go will sell for a suggested retail p rice of $4.49 for a box of 15 treatments.

SafetyMate announced today that its first-aid responder device, the first and only portable units with life saving protocols recommended by the American Red Cross and the Department of Homeland Security, have been purchased for use in 50 buses operated by the Capistrano Unified School District. The 55-school, 50,000-student school district will take delivery of the first units this summer to serve as supplementary protection for its students riding the bus. As the first school district to incorporate the SafetyMate devices into its safety preparedness and risk management programs, Capistrano Unified will serve as a model to other school districts nationwide that are interested in making student safety a top priority.

“Student safety and well-being is of the utmost priority,” said Dan Crawford, Associate Superintendent, Support Services, of the Capistrano Unified School District. “Each school already has a comprehensive School Safety Plan and conducts regular fire and disaster drills. SafetyMate is an extension of these preparedness measures and offers another response tool should there be a true emergency situation.”

Developed with the support of the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross, SafetyMate is a hand-held, battery-powered portable interactive device designed to help a first aid responder react confidently to a variety of life threatening medical emergencies with the push of a button. The audible instructions and protocols, which are provided step-by-step, are the same as those recommended by 911 operators, the American Red Cross, and the Department of Homeland Security.

SafetyMate provides instructions and protocols for emergencies frequently reported to 911 or handled by an Emergency Medical Team: choking; seizures; head, spine and neck injuries; burns; electric shock; CPR; fractures; and unconsciousness.

“Schools are the guardians of our children for a good part of the day and of their lives,” said John Rodenrys, CEO of SafetyMate Corporation. “The Capistrano Unified School District has taken another step to ensure their safety and will become the model for other school districts in the area of emergency preparedness. In a medical emergency when every second counts, it’s reassuring to know a school district is equipped with a product that can be the link between the occurrence of an emergency situation and the arrival of professional help to the scene.”

SafetyMate can be programmed in any language and is currently offered in an English/Spanish version in the U.S. and an English/French version in Canada. The proprietary programmability of SafetyMate allows the company to provide keypad configurations with varied protocol requests to meet the needs of any and all markets.

first-aid antiseptic with Advanced Preventx(R) Formula

Empyrean Bioscience, Inc. (OTCBB:EMDG) recently received a purchase order from Grand Union, a grocery chain with stores primarily in the northeast region of the United States, for the Coleman(R) Hand Sanitizer and First-Aid Antiseptic with Advanced Preventx(R) Formula.

Grand Union operates 217 supermarkets in six states in the northeastern region of the United States, including New York, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. All Grand Union store locations will be carrying the eight-ounce spray of the Coleman(R) Hand Sanitizer and First-Aid Antiseptic with Advanced Preventx(R) Formula. Consumers in the six designated states will be able to find the product on store shelves in the first-aid section of Grand Union supermarket locations.

“This is a significant purchase order for the Coleman(R) brand hand sanitizer and first-aid antiseptic,” said Bennett S. Rubin, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Placement in Grand Union stores expands regional distribution of the Advanced Preventx(R) formula in the retail food business. And, shelf space in the supermarket’s first-aid section yet emphasizes the product’s antiseptic capability.”

Last year, Empyrean Bioscience signed a licensing agreement with The Coleman Company, enabling the company to market its hand sanitizer, towelettes and disinfectant surface spray in the U.S. and Canada using the Coleman trademark, primarily to the outdoor/recreational, sporting goods and hardware channels.

“The alcohol-free formula makes the Coleman(R) product advantageous for a variety of users, particularly recreational and outdoor users,” Rubin said. “It’s non-flammable, won’t dry hands with repeated use and can be used as a first-aid antiseptic to clean minor cuts and abrasions.”

The Advanced Preventx(R) Formula kills 99.9% of disease-causing germs for up to four hours. The alcohol-free, aloe-enriched formula is non-irritating and does not cause chapping or drying of the skin. It moisturizes and conditions skin while it sanitizes. Preventx(R) can also be used as a first-aid antiseptic to help heal minor cuts, scrapes and burns.

The hand sanitizer and first-aid antiseptic — both Preventx(R) and Coleman(R) brands — is Empyrean’s initial product offering. Having been popular for its alcohol-free and long-lasting capabilities, Preventx(R) Hand Sanitizer & First-Aid Antiseptic had its first success in sales to commercial and institutional customers and is currently being introduced to consumers nationwide at the retail level. The national introduction follows successful retail market testing of the new product.

The Coleman Company, which will celebrate its centennial in 2001, manufactures and distributes a wide range of outdoor products for camping and leisure-time activities. Coleman products can be found at sporting goods stores, mass merchants and hardware home centers across the United States, Canada and more than 100 other countries around the world. Coleman is a subsidiary of Sunbeam Corporation. For more information, please visit their web site at www.coleman.com.

Empyrean Bioscience is a consumer products company specializing in the marketing, sale and distribution of innovative personal care products designed to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The company markets its products under the Preventx(R) and Coleman(R) brand names. For more information, see www.empyreanbio.com.

This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements “will be carrying the convenient eight-ounce size of the Coleman(R) Hand Sanitizer and First-Aid Antiseptic with Advanced Preventx(R) Formula,” “will be able to find the product on store shelves in the first-aid section of Grand Union” and “and is currently being introduced to consumers nationwide at the retail level” are forward-looking in nature. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks include, among other factors, the acceptability of existing and potential products in the marketplace and the ability to obtain sufficient capital to fund operations. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the Company’s Form 10-KSB annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

I hAve been lost in my PC’s win.ini, sys.ini, autoexec.bat config.sys files too many times to tell you. I have made changes, and then forgotten what they were, re-booted, and found myself staring into a screen that has no relationship to anything ive ever seen. Who do I call? What do I do? I have fantasized about throwing my computer on the floor, slamming it with a hammer, etc.

PC First-Aid Kit is enlightening; not that it can hold your hand or fix your PC for you, but if you focus on the table of contents and let the frustration go, you will have your answer in a few seconds. This book is my favorite, and the softwore that comes with it is wonderful.

When I saw the price tag on the Pedia-Pak, I gasped: $65.95 seems pretty steep for a portable first-aid kit.

After looking through it, I think it’s a steal.

The red, white and blue pack has a number of compartments, each packed not only with the items a parent needs when a child is injured (think elastic bandage, alcohol pads, iodine pads, bee- sting relief pads and bandages), but also everyday items that every parent should have on hand.

That includes children’s Tylenol and Motrin, the generic equivalent of Benadryl, electrolyte mix and a bundle of various creams for everything from problem diaper rashes to antibiotic ointment, Hydrocortisone and aloe vera for sunburns.

One of the best items in this kit, however, is the book, “Emergency Medical Treatment: Infants, Children and Adults,” by David Manhoff and Dr. Stephen Vogel. It slips neatly into the outer pouch and has tabs to make it easy to find the instructions you need and drawings to make it even easier to understand.

The kit also contains instruments, from standard tweezers to a

medicine dropper, an instant cold pack, scissors, a digital thermometer for either oral or rectal use and more. Camping families will appreciate the tick tweezers and handy identification guide.

The retail value of the items, all of them actually useful to parents, easily exceeds the cost of the kit.

Mostly, though, I like the superb portability. It’s lightweight and compact, so you can throw it in the trunk when you head for an outing or put it on a handy shelf at home. It’s nowhere near as big as a diaper bag or a standard woman’s purse.

And it brings everything together. There’s no searching through cupboards for that one medicine or ointment — it’s all laid out in the pockets in easy-grab form.

There’s an interesting story behind the development of this product. B.J. Hilles was in the process of adopting a child from China. She was concerned about the trip home with a child who may not have had adequate medical care, although she knew her skills as a nurse would see her through.

But because she is a nurse, she also had plenty of material for her imagination to fret over during the waiting period of the adoption, while she was trying to get things ready.

She set out to buy a first-aid kit but couldn’t find one designed with children in mind.

Hilles and her pediatrician talked about what such a bag should contain. And because she did not know, at that time, exactly how old her daughter-to-be, Olivia, was, she expanded it to make a kit suitable for a child of any age.

Sir: In the feature “The ten best travel first-aid kits” (24 July), all the “remedies” in the Helios Homeopathy Travellers’ kit are in the 30C dilution. Therefore, they contain no trace of the substance on the label. You pay pounds 38.95 for sugar pills. To get even one molecule, you would have to swallow a sphere with a diameter equal to the distance from the Earth to the sun. That is hard to swallow. Helios was one of the companies pilloried by the News-night programme when their representative recommended homeopathic prevention of malaria. That was condemned even by some homeopaths as dangerous and irresponsible. It is simple. This “medicine” contains no medicine.