Navidea Announces Launch of Lymphoseek in US

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: NAVB), a biopharmaceutical companyfocused on the development and commercialization of precision diagnosticradiopharmaceuticals, today announced the U.S. launch of Lymphoseek^®(technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) Injection for use in lymphatic mappingprocedures that are performed to help in the diagnostic evaluation ofpotential cancer spread for patients with breast cancer and melanoma.Lymphoseek was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inMarch 2013.As part of Navidea's U.S. distribution partnership, Cardinal Health isresponsible for the sale and distribution of Lymphoseek to health careprofessionals through its existing network of nuclear pharmacies. Navidea isworking closely with the company in all commercial activities and medicaleducation programs for Lymphoseek.Lymphoseek has been priced at $300 per patient procedure. Navidea has beenworking to ensure fair and equitable reimbursement for lymphatic mappingprocedures using Lymphoseek. In the case of Medicare, Navidea believes theseprocedures are currently reimbursable under established codes, and expects toapply for and receive a unique pass-through code for Lymphoseek within a fewmonths. Navidea and Cardinal Health will provide information and support toproviders and payers to ensure that they can secure formulary status andappropriate payment.According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 232,000 new cases ofbreast cancer and 77,000 new cases of melanoma are expected to be diagnosed inthe United States in 2013. One of the procedures used by physicians to help inthe diagnostic evaluation of breast cancer and melanoma is lymphatic mapping.Lymphatic mapping is a widely used procedure in which lymph nodes that maycontain tumor metastases are identified and biopsied to determine if cancerhas spread beyond the primary tumor. Navidea estimates that lymphatic mappingis utilized in approximately 70% of these patients each year in the UnitedStates.Conference Call for InvestorsNavidea Biopharmaceuticals will host a conference call for investors, today at8:30 a.m. EDT to discuss the Lymphoseek launch. Conference call dial-ininformation is included below. Conference Call Information TO PARTICIPATE LIVE:             TO LISTEN TO A REPLAY:Date:       May 1,             Available until:       May 15, 2013 2013Time: 8:30 a.m. Toll-free (U.S.) (877) EDT Dial in # : 660-6853 International (201) Dial in # : 612-7415Toll-free (U.S.) (877)  Dial in # : 407-8031International (201)Dial in # : 689-8031  Replay passcode: 268 Account #: 413373                      Conference ID #: