SAFE-BIOPHARMA RECEIVES SAFE HARBOR CERTIFICATION

Ft. Lee, N.J. (October 27, 2009) –SAFE-BioPharma Association has certified compliance with the US Department of Commerce and European Union Safe Harbor requirements for the protection of personal data. The non-profit association developed and manages the global SAFE-BioPharma® digital identity and signature standard, used within the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

To qualify, SAFE-BioPharma developed its privacy policy to comply with the EU’s Safe Harbor Principles. Safe Harbor Certification will enable SAFE-BioPharma to transfer personal data outside the E.U., expediting the flow of information between European clients and the United States. The certification recognizes that SAFE-BioPharma’s privacy and data security policies provide "adequate protection" for personal data from its European clients as required by the European Union's Data Protection Directive. 

“Receiving Safe Harbor status assures SAFE-BioPharma member companies that use of the standard to manage digital identities and/or to apply digital signatures is consistent with EU regulations regarding data transfer and will further enhance our capabilities to better serve our European clients,” said Mollie Shields-Uehling, President and CEO, SAFE-BioPharma Association.

Details regarding EU Safe Harbor Principles are available at http://www.safe-biopharma.org/infocenter/SafeHarborOverview.pdf.

About SAFE-BioPharma Association (www.safe-biopharma.org) SAFE-BioPharma Association is the non-profit association that created and manages the SAFE-BioPharma® digital identity and signature standard for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

The SAFE-BioPharma industry standard is used to mitigate legal, regulatory and other business risk associated with business-to-business and business-to-regulator electronic transactions. It facilitates interoperability by providing a secure, enforceable, and regulatory-compliant way to verify identities of parties involved in electronic transactions. Because the standard is linked to the Federal Bridge PKI Architecture through the 4BF (http://www.the4bf.com), a SAFE-BioPharma digital identity can be trusted by any Federal agency. SAFE-BioPharma’s vision is to be a catalyst in transforming the biopharmaceutical and healthcare communities to a fully electronic business environment by 2012.

The Association’s members include:

• Abbott (NYSE: ABT)
• Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN)
• AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN)
• Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)
• GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK)
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
• Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY)
• McDougall Scientific
• Merck (NYSE:MRK)
• National Notary Association
• Novartis
• Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)
• Premier Inc.
• Roche
• Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:SNY).
• ScheringPlough-Organon (NYSE: SGP)
• SNAP Diagnostics

SAFE-BioPharma® is a trademark of SAFE-BioPharma Association. Any use of this trademark requires approval from
SAFE-BioPharma Association.