Smith & Nephew Endoscopy, Body1, Inc., Extend Strategic Relationship to Provide Knee Health Information

ANDOVER, Mass., and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., DECEMBER 31, 2001 -- Smith & Nephew, Inc., Endoscopy Division, a subsidiary of Smith & Nephew, plc (NYSE: SNN) and Body1, Inc., today announced the extension of their Internet partnership through a new three-year agreement. Under this new agreement -- designed to continually expand the reach of Knee1.com, the leading online knowledge community for knee care -- Smith & Nephew Endoscopy will continue to serve as lead sponsor of the Knee1.com web site through 2004. Knee1.com provides consumers and medical experts with an interactive setting in which they can learn about knee conditions, injuries, available treatments and new surgical options from leading experts. Consumers also can exchange their experiences with each other through online forums, share or post stories on their knee conditions, obtain information on knee anatomy or learn about the latest trends in surgery and technology.

"Since its inception, the Internet has proven to be a vital element for consumer access to health care management information," commented John Konsin, vice president, marketing, Smith & Nephew Endoscopy. "As a proven leader in arthroscopy, we believe our sponsorship of Knee1.com uniquely positions us to lead that trend - to the benefit of our physician partners and consumers."

According to a Frost & Sullivan, 2001 Report, over 1.3-million arthroscopic knee procedures were performed in 2000.

"Our partnership with Smith & Nephew Endoscopy is a continuing part of our proactive strategy to leverage the Internet to broaden and improve the level of quality health care information available to consumers," said Chris Messina, president, Body1, Inc.

Knee1.com has received The Health on the Net Foundation (HON) approval. The HON Code of Conduct (HONcode) for medical and health Web sites addresses one of the Internet's main healthcare issues: the reliability and credibility of information. It aims to help standardize the reliability of medical and health information available on the World Wide Web. It defines a set of rules to hold Web site developers to basic ethical standards in the presentation of information and to help make sure readers always know the source and the purpose of the data they are reading.

Knee1.com also recently received the 2001 Distinction Award at the eHealthcare Leadership Awards. This was awarded based on "recognition of outstanding healthcare Web sites for consumers and healthcare professionals."

About Body1.com Founded in February 1999, Body1, Inc., is a provider of interactive outsourced sales and marketing solutions for the biomedical industry, and has been profitable since 2000. Body1, Inc., is a joint venture partner with AdvaMed, the industrial trade association representing the medical device industry. It has developed and deployed a number of advanced interactive technologies such as eForums Distance Meeting Tools and Knowledge Cooperatives -- intelligent therapeutic communities -- such as Knee1.com.

About Smith & Nephew Inc., Endoscopy Division Smith & Nephew Endoscopy (www.endoscopy1.com) is a world leader in the development and commercialization of endoscopic techniques. Within endoscopy, Smith & Nephew is the recognized world leader in arthroscopy (endoscopic procedures performed on articulating joints).

It is one of the core business units of Smith & Nephew plc, (NYSE: SNN) (London Stock Exchange: SN), a leading worldwide medical devices company with a highly successful track record in developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of innovative and technologically advanced tissue repair products. These products are primarily in the areas of bone, joints, skin and other soft tissue. Smith & Nephew has extensive marketing and distribution capabilities, with established sales in more than 90 countries. For further information, visit Smith & Nephew's website at www.smith-nephew.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The company wishes to caution the reader that actual results may differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and may be adversely affected by, among other things, risks associated with new product development and commercialization, clinical trials, intellectual property, regulatory approvals, competitive offerings, the company's overall business strategy and other factors.