Maryland Company Develops Unique Oral Rehydration Product

Dehydration Rates Higher During Winter Months

Jessup, MD, October 26, 1999--Cera Products, LLC, a pioneering medical nutrition company, has introduced an all natural rice-based oral electrolyte replacement. CeraLyte's patented formula works more quickly than glucose-based solutions, because of its low osmolality, it delivers water and nutrients more efficiently. The product's quick absorption rate shortens the illness period. Developed along with teams of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine physician scientists to treat cholera victims in deprived third world conditions, CeraLyte is now available for hospitals as well as for the home market and travelers.

Charlene Riikonen, founder and CEO of Cera, notes, "CeraLyte can be a lifesaver to prevent or correct dehydration. The product has been used successfully to treat cholera patients, AIDS patients, and especially travelers' diarrhea. CeraLyte should be part of every family's medicine cabinet, to treat diarrhea quickly and rehydrate before the illness becomes serious."

Annually, digestive diseases generate over 50 million physician office visits; infectious diarrhea and inflammatory bowel disease alone are responsible for 8 to 13 million. Because CeraLyte has much greater absorption rates and delivers more nutrients, patients with chronic illnesses, such as AIDS or Crohn's Disease, can more successfully manage their conditions. Fast-acting CeraLyte is also helpful in relieving elderly patients who, because of their compromised thirst response, may be more easily dehydrated. CeraLyte is suitable for lactose-intolerant patients, and is kosher OU-certified.

CeraLyte is available as a powder that can be reconstituted with water. It comes in convenient packets, for individual and family use, and is available in bulk for institutional applications. CeraLyte has a long shelf life, and is suitable for the hospital pharmacy, the family medicine cabinet and travelers.

CeraLyte is available in five flavors and three sodium strengths (50mEq/L, 70mEq/L, 90mEq/L). It is available through most wholesale distribution companies, catalogues, some hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, or direct from Cera Products at 1.888.CERALYTE or online at www.ceraproductsinc.com.

Cera Products Press Contact

Charlene Riikonen
410.309.1000 or charlene.riikonen@ceraproducts.us

Cera Products Inc.

Cera Products Inc. is a Maryland-based biotechnology company. Founded by Ms. Charlene Riikonen and Johns Hopkins University physicians Dr. William Greenough and Dr. David Sack, Cera develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance, proprietary rice-based oral rehydration solutions (ORS). The company's mission is to save lives, improve quality of life, and reduce health care costs associated with dehydration worldwide. For more information, visit the Cera Products website at www.ceraproductsinc.com.

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