American Esoteric Laboratories Announces Acquisition of Memphis Pathology Laboratory MEMPHIS, Tenn., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- American Esoteric Laboratories, Inc. (AEL), a full-service provider of esoteric and other clinical reference laboratory services, today announced it has acquired Memphis Pathology Laboratory (MPL). MPL, a joint venture owned by MDS Inc., Baptist Memorial Health Care, and Methodist Healthcare, is a state-of-the-art, community-based core clinical laboratory serving customers in Memphis and the surrounding area, including parts of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky. The MPL acquisition allows AEL to further expand its national footprint and achieve its mission to provide the widest range of quality, specialized and cost-effective testing services to enhance patient care for its customers in both urban and rural markets. "One of the main goals of AEL is to provide our target customers the fastest turn-around-time on clinical laboratory results in the industry," said Brian Carr, chairman and chief executive officer of AEL. "MPL fits uniquely into this strategy on several levels. With their Memphis location and our soon-to-open Dallas-based laboratory, AEL will now have an extensive menu of routine and esoteric clinical tests in two of the nation's top transportation hubs. This is very significant for us from a competitive standpoint, as we'll be able to leverage our logistics advantage to improve turn-around-time for our customers. There are more than 1,000 direct flights into Dallas each day and Memphis has a combined 500 commercial flights arriving daily. In addition, FedEx calls Memphis home and UPS' third-largest US facility is based here. Therefore, in most cases, we can avoid the hub-and-spoke issues that plague other labs and delay results delivery." John Mazzei, executive director of MPL, stated, "Our combination with AEL is excellent news for our customers, employees, and Memphis, in general. Our previous hospital owners at Baptist and Methodist recognized that AEL shares their vision for the growth of our business, and consequently jobs, here in Memphis. AEL is an exceptional organization that has exciting plans for growth, but their commitment to patient and customer satisfaction is what drives them and impressed us the most." Carr added, "MPL, its management team and partners have done an outstanding job in developing a powerful regional laboratory. They are widely known in their region and the broader medical community as possessing a wide array of routine and esoteric clinical testing capabilities coupled with a superior level of personalized service to their hospital and physician clients. We are excited to have the opportunity to assist them in further solidifying their existing customer relationships through an enhanced and expanding clinical esoteric test menu and additional information technology investments. Additionally, we will be opening new market opportunities for MPL that are consistent with our business plan and philosophies while also leveraging Memphis' logistical advantages." Chris McLean, senior vice president of finance for Methodist, said, "We enjoyed a good working relationship with MDS and Baptist under the prior arrangement, but now with the change in MDS's business strategy, we believe AEL to be the best company for ensuring continued high quality service to our lab customers and our patients." "We are thrilled that such a well-respected organization as AEL will be providing lab services in the Memphis area," said Don Pounds, senior vice president and chief financial officer for Baptist. "This move will allow us to concentrate on what we do best -- caring for patients -- while helping ensure MPL's customers continue to receive the same reliable, convenient service they're receiving now." As part of the agreement, AEL acquired the entire operations of MPL, with the exception of their anatomic pathology services, which were sold to Duckworth Pathology Group prior to the transaction closing. Current MPL management and its entire employee base will stay in place and AEL expects MPL to continue to expand its offerings and services. About Memphis Pathology Laboratory Prior to AEL's acquisition, Memphis Pathology Laboratory (MPL), was a joint venture owned by MDS Inc., Baptist Memorial Health Care, and Methodist Healthcare. MPL is a community-based core clinical laboratory serving customers in Memphis and the surrounding area, including parts of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky. In September 2003, MPL merged with Methodist Healthcare subsidiary, Med Lab, another Memphis laboratory to strengthen patient care and enhance service. Under the banner of MPL, the lab provides fast, accurate test results to its regional customers. MPL's 35,000 sq. ft. laboratory is located at 5846 Distribution Drive, just east of the Memphis International Airport, about twenty minutes from downtown. For more information, visit http://www.mpllab.com/ About American Esoteric Laboratories, Inc. American Esoteric Laboratories, Inc. (AEL) is a company designed to provide industry leading turn-around-time, informatics, personalized service, and other qualitative services in clinical reference testing to hospitals and other specialized healthcare providers. The company's primary emphasis is on clinical esoteric tests, which provide physicians with the clinical information required to complete a diagnosis, establish a prognosis, or to choose and monitor a therapeutic regimen. The company frequently partners with hospitals that have an outreach presence to compete in the routine test market. AEL uses advanced information technology solutions to accelerate and automate electronic assay ordering and results reporting for its customers. AEL's Dallas laboratory will be located at 6221 Riverside Drive, Suite 119, Irving, TX 75039, about ten minutes from DFW International Airport. For more information visit: http://www.ael.com/ . Press Contact: Thomas Aitchison Blanc & Otus Public Relations (512) 335-8771, x15 DATASOURCE: American Esoteric Laboratories, Inc. CONTACT: Thomas Aitchison of Blanc & Otus Public Relations, +1-512-335-8771, ext. 15, or , for American Esoteric Laboratories, Inc. Web site: http://www.ael.com/ http://www.mpllab.com/

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