LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 2004--I-Flow Corp. (NASDAQ: IFLO) today announced an agreement with Novation LLC to make ON-Q(R) PainBuster(R), a narcotic-free surgical-site pain relief system used after surgery, available to health care organizations that purchase supplies through Novation, the leading supply services company in health care. I-Flow is one of two companies on the dual-source agreement. ON-Q received enhanced indications for use from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for significantly better pain relief than narcotics alone and significantly reduced narcotics intake.

Novation is the supply company of VHA Inc. and University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), two health care alliances that serve more than 2,300 health care organizations nationwide, including 1,400 acute care facilities.

"Managing post-surgical pain is a critical aspect of patient care, and we want to enable health care organizations to save money on cutting-edge technologies that help improve the patient experience and outcomes," said Brian Kellner, product manager of Novation. "Clinical evidence has shown that ON-Q represents a significant benefit over the use of narcotics alone for pain relief and reduces the need for narcotics, helping patients feel better and get back to normal faster. This was a key factor in the decision to offer this innovative device to our member facilities."

With this agreement, Novation now has ON-Q PainBuster, with the ON-Q Soaker Catheter, in its product portfolio to address post-surgical pain relief.

"This is an important relationship for I-Flow because Novation represents 90,000 staffed patient beds, so a large group of patients can benefit from the superior pain relief that ON-Q provides," said Donald M. Earhart, president and CEO of I-Flow Corporation. "It is also encouraging that the hospital representatives who served on Novation's clinical councils took ON-Q's enhanced indications for use into consideration during their decision process and chose ON-Q over other options."

About ON-Q PainBuster

ON-Q is now labeled to significantly reduce pain and narcotics intake after surgery. The ON-Q PainBuster is a simple yet elegant device that consists of a small balloon pump that holds a local anesthetic (a pain-numbing medicine) and delivers it through a tiny, specially-designed tube (catheter) directly into the surgical site. The proprietary ON-Q Soaker(TM) Catheter is designed to provide more even distribution of local anesthetic over a wider area, as compared to other catheters, because of its patented wicking capabilities.

ON-Q PainBuster delivers narcotic-free pain relief for many surgeries, including: cesarean section, hysterectomy, knee replacement, mastectomy, cardio-vascular/thoracic, foot and ankle and many cosmetic procedures. ON-Q PainBuster helps patients avoid the side effects of narcotics so they can get back to their normal lives faster. Currently, 39 studies on the use of ON-Q have been completed and published and more are underway to demonstrate the benefits of ON-Q in additional areas such as pediatrics and wound healing.

For more information about ON-Q, visit AskYourSurgeon.com or call 800-448-3569.

About Novation

Based in Irving, Texas, Novation (novationco.com) was established in January 1998 through a combination of the supply programs of VHA and UHC, two national health care alliances. Novation serves the purchasing needs of more than 2,300 members and affiliates of VHA and UHC. Novation also serves more than 5,400 members and clients of HealthCare Purchasing Partners International (HPPI), another group purchasing organization owned by VHA and UHC. Novation managed more than $22 billion in annual purchases for VHA, UHC and HPPI members in 2003.

About I-Flow Corporation

I-Flow Corporation (iflo.com) designs, develops and markets technically advanced, low-cost drug delivery systems and services that are redefining the standard of care by providing life-enhancing, cost-effective solutions for pain relief.

Certain disclosures made by the Company in this press release and in other reports and statements released by the Company are and will be forward-looking in nature, such as comments that express the Company's opinions about trends and factors that may impact future operating results. Disclosures that use words such as the Company "believes," "anticipates," or "expects" or use similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those expected, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to republish revised forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by the Company in this release which seek to advise interested parties of the risks and other factors that affect the Company's business, as well as in the Company's periodic reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The risks affecting the Company's business include, among others: implementation of our direct sales strategy; dependence on our suppliers and distributors; reliance on the success of the home health care industry; our continuing compliance with applicable laws and regulations, such as the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act, and the FDA's concurrence with our management's subjective judgment on compliance issues; the reimbursement system currently in place and future changes to that system; competition in the industry; economic and political conditions in foreign countries; currency exchange rates; inadequacy of booked reserves; technological changes and product availability and acceptance. All such forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or elsewhere, should be considered in context with the various disclosures made by the Company about its business.

    CONTACT: Schwartz Communications
             Wendy Williams/Michele Saltzberg, 781-684-0770
             iflo@schwartz-pr.com
             or
             I-Flow Corporation
             Orlando Rodrigues, 949-206-2619
             orlandorodrigues@iflo.com
             or
             Novation Inc.
             Kristin Lucido, 972-581-5116
             klucido@novationco.com

    SOURCE: I-Flow Corporation