2003 Dialyzer Production reaches Milestone of 50 Million Dialyzers

Fresenius Medical Care AG ("The Company") (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: FME, FME3) (NYSE: FMS, FMS_p), the world's largest provider of Dialysis Products and Services, today announced that during December it produced "Dialyzer No. 50 Million", which is the first year ever having reached production output of 50 million dialyzers annually. Over the past several years, the Company has expanded its manufacturing base and capacity in all major key markets, such as Europe, North America and recently also in Asia Pacific, specifically the market in Japan.

Over the recent years, the Company also introduced its next generation polysulfone high-flux dialyzer membrane technologies with the FX class dialyzer in the international market. Last year, the Company took a big step forward for both patients and the Company by switching its U.S. clinics to single-use (one time use) of dialyzers. Today, Fresenius Medical Care's U.S. clinics provide single-use dialyzer treatments for their patients as part of the Company's UltraCareTM program, which is a patient care treatment program that includes the new single-use Optiflux dialyzers as well as patient care treatment technologies with its series of 2008 dialysis machines.

At this year's American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Conference, one of the major renal conferences, which was held in San Diego on November 14 – 17, a scientific study was presented regarding the improvements in medical outcomes of single-use dialyzers compared to re-use dialyzers. This scientific study concludes that the use of new synthetic membrane dialyzers with each treatment suggests a survival advantage for patients compared to the use of dialyzers that have been clinically reprocessed (re-used).

Ben Lipps, Chief Executive Officer of Fresenius Medical Care, commented: "We are all proud to have reached this level of dialyzer production output on a global basis and we are confident that our global strategy is on the right track."