Second-Generation Female Condom Is Now Available in the United States;
FC2 Female Condom Will Cost 30 Percent Less than Predecessor
Company Makes Announcement at a Meeting of Southeastern Reproductive Health Organizations;
FHC Makes Special Commitment to Expand Access in U.S. Regions with Highest AIDS Case Rates
CHICAGO, IL-October 1, 2009 - The Female Health Company (FHC) (NASDAQ: FHCO) is announcing today that its
second-generation FC2 Female CondomŽ, which received regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration in
March as an HIV prevention method, is now available for purchase in the United States.
The company will make the announcement in Atlanta at a meeting of the Southeastern Urban Initiative for Reproductive
Health, a coalition of reproductive health advocates from Southern states that is seeking increased federal funding for HIV
prevention.
"America's HIV epidemic isn't going away. In fact, it's getting worse, and African American and Latino women are
disproportionately impacted," said Dazon Dixon Diallo, Founder and President of SisterLove, a grassroots service
organization based in Atlanta that supports HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health programs for women. "It's
time to provide women in heavily impacted communities with expanded access to affordable women-controlled options,
and the female condom becomes that choice. Women will use it if they have it."
"We're thrilled that FC2 is now available in the United States," said Mary Ann Leeper, FHC's senior strategic adviser,
who will deliver a keynote address on the female condom and woman-initiated prevention at the Atlanta meeting. "We
developed the female condom to provide women with access to HIV prevention that they can initiate. We know that
women and men practice safer sex when they have access to more prevention methods, and we believe that access to the
female condom can help millions of American women negotiate safer sex with their partners."
FC2 may be purchased from the Company's two public sector distributors: Total Access Group, Inc. www.totalaccessgroup.com and Global Protection Corporation, www.globalprotection.com/store. In addition, FHC has
launched a website, www.fc2femalecondom.com, which includes tiered pricing information for ordering a minimum
quantity of 25,000 units directly from the Company. Price per unit will decline based on the volume purchased. The
maximum price to purchase FC2 from the Company's distributors is $0.82/unit regardless of quantity, approximately a
30% decrease from the unit price paid for FC1.
FC2 will be available in certain retail outlets, and FHC is seeking a partner with appropriate experience to promote FC2
directly to consumers in the U.S.
FHC Makes Commitment to Expanded Access and Education
Seven of the top 10 states ranked by the rate of AIDS cases are in the U.S. South, and FHC will announce today that it is
initiating a program to work with a number of southern reproductive health service organizations to provide free
allotments of FC2 Female Condoms as part of an introductory awareness and education program, including training for
health care providers on how to integrate female condom education into reproductive health counseling.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that women represent a growing proportion of
Americans living with HIV and AIDS. Over the past two decades, the percentage of women among all people living with
HIV in the U.S. has increased from 8 percent to 27 percent. African American and Latino women are also
disproportionately impacted by the epidemic. African American women account for 66 percent of new AIDS cases among
American women, while Latino women are five times more likely than white women to be diagnosed with AIDS.
The AIDS case rate is significantly higher in the U.S. South than in other regions of the country, and the prevalence of
HIV and AIDS cases in some southern communities is comparable to prevalence figures for West Africa.
More than 70 reproductive health and HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations in the U.S. have called on donors and
implementing agencies to expand women's access to the female condom, which remains the only safe and effective
method of woman-initiated HIV prevention currently available.
About The Female Health Company
The Female Health Company (FHC), headquartered in Chicago, IL, is the maker of the FC Female Condom (FC1 and FC2), a
revolutionary option offering women dual protection against both sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and unintended
pregnancy. FHC was created as a worldwide company in February 1996 with the purchase of Chartex Resources Ltd., the holder of
exclusive worldwide rights to FC1. The Company holds exclusive product and technology patents for FC1 in the United States,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the People's Republic of China, South Korea and
Japan. FC2 patents have been granted in Australia and South Africa and are pending in various other countries. FHC is the sole
manufacturer and marketer of the FC1 and FC2 female condoms in the world. The Female Health Company and its partners currently
market the Female Condom under FCFemale CondomŽ, FC2 Female CondomŽ, RealityŽ, FemidomŽ, FemyŽ, and CareŽ.
"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Action of 1995:
The statements in this release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based upon the Company's current plans
and strategies, and reflect the Company's current assessment of the risks and uncertainties related to its business, including such things
as product demand and market acceptance; the economic and business environment and the impact of government pressures; currency
risks; capacity; efficiency and supply constraints; and other risks detailed in the Company's press releases, shareholder
communications and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Actual events affecting the Company and the impact of such
events on the Company's operations may vary from those currently anticipated.
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Media Contact:
Bryan Callahan
(202) 729-4255
Product/Programs:
Mary Ann Leeper
(434) 964-1488
Investor Contacts:
Donna Felch
(312) 595-9123
William R. Gargiulo, Jr.
(231) 526-1244
Source: Female Health Company
http://www.femalehealth.com/images/press_2009_09_30_FHCO_FC2_US.pdf
"Reproduced with permission - Female Health Company "
Female Health Company
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