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ANDOVER, Mass., Feb 1, 2010 – Smith & Nephew's (NYSE:SNN; LSE:SN) Endoscopy Division today announced that the company has been awarded a three-year contract (effective February 15, 2010) from HealthTrust Purchasing Group as a supplier of arthroscopic shaver blades to its membership nationwide. Smith & Nephew DYONICS^◊ shaver blades are used in hundreds of thousands of minimally invasive procedures each year to surgically treat injuries to the joint, such as an ACL tear in the knee or a frayed rotator cuff in the shoulder. 

"DYONICS is a well known and highly regarded brand among orthopaedic surgeons,” Todd Usen, senior vice president, U.S. Business, Smith & Nephew Endoscopy commented.  “We're proud to be contracting with HealthTrust Purchasing Group to offer its membership a comprehensive solution for their surgical needs."
     
^◊ Trademark of Smith & Nephew

HealthTrust Purchasing Group, headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., is a group purchasing organization that supports nearly 1,400 not-for-profit and for-profit acute care facilities, as well as ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices, and alternate care sites. With an annual purchasing volume by its members of more than $17 billion, HealthTrust is committed to obtaining the best price for clinically-recommended products, ensuring their timely delivery and continuously evaluating and improving its services to the patients, physicians and clinicians it serves. HealthTrust is located at 155 Franklin Road, Suite 400, Brentwood, TN 37027. The Web site is http://www.healthtrustpg.com/.

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specializing in Orthopaedics, including Reconstruction, Trauma and Clinical Therapies; Endoscopy and Advanced Wound Management.  Smith & Nephew is a global leader in arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global orthopaedics companies.

Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives.  The Company prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and professional healthcare customers.  The Company operates in 32 countries around the world.  Annual sales in 2008 were nearly $3.8 billion.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, statements regarding planned growth in our business and in our operating margins discussed under "Outlook" are forward-looking statements as are discussions of our product pipeline. These statements, as well as the phrases "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome of litigation and regulatory approvals) that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of these factors.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person acting on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Smith & Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Contact:

Joe Metzger  SVP, Corporate Communications  Smith & Nephew Endoscopy   (978) 749-1330 joe.metzger@smith-nephew.com