Jury Returns $15,000,000 Verdict For Integra LifeSciences --
                      Merck KGaA Found To Infringe Patents

Plainsboro, NJ, March 20, 2000 /PR Newswire/ -- Integra LifeSciences Holdings
Corporation (NASDAQ: IART) announced today that on Friday, March 17, 2000, a
federal jury sitting in the case Integra LifeSciences I, Ltd. and The Burnham
Institute vs. Merck KGaA returned a unanimous verdict for the plaintiffs, found
that Merck KGaA had willfully infringed and induced the infringement of
Integra's patents, and awarded $15,000,000 in damages. The case was tried in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of California (Civil
Action No. 961307 - JMF).

The lawsuit, which was filed in 1996, alleged that Merck KGaA and a non-profit
research institution under contract from Merck KGaA had infringed various United
States patents held by The Burnham Institute of San Diego that have been
licensed to Integra. Those patents include No. 4,792,525, No. 4,879,237, No.
5,659,997, and No. 4,789,734, each in various ways relating to technology
involving peptides containing an arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) sequence
or related cell surface receptors.

Compounds containing the RGD sequence promote or inhibit cell adhesion by
binding receptors called integrins found on the surface of almost every cell in
the body. Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of The Burnham
Institute (formerly the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation), and Michael D.
Pierschbacher, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Director of Integra's Corporate
Research Center in San Diego, co-invented at The Burnham Institute the matters
described in the patents in the case.

Among other findings, the eight person jury unanimously found that Merck KGaA
had induced infringement of all four of the patents numbered above, that none of
the patent claims submitted to the jury were invalid, and that the plaintiffs
had proven by clear and convincing evidence that Merck's inducement of the
infringement was willful. The jury awarded Integra and The Burnham Institute
actual damages of $15,000,000, which amount may be adjusted by the Court.
Integra expects that post-trial motions will be filed, and that Merck KGaA will
appeal various decisions of the Court and request a new trial, a reduction in
damages, or a judgment as a matter of law notwithstanding the verdict.

"It is gratifying and vindicating that a United States jury has unanimously
found willful infringement of these important patents, and has seen fit to award
the plaintiffs significant damages," said Dr. Pierschbacher.

"Integra always prefers to license technology and to collaborate with strategic
partners, rather than to litigate over patents," said John B. Henneman, III,
Integra's Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel. "Nevertheless, we
are very pleased with the jury's findings."



The plaintiffs were represented in the case by Campbell & Flores LLP of San
Diego.

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation develops, manufactures and markets
medical devices, implants and biomaterials primarily used in the treatment of
spinal and cranial disorders, soft-tissue repair and orthopedics. Its corporate
headquarters are located in Plainsboro, New Jersey with facilities in San Diego,
California, Exton, Pennsylvania, and Anasco, Puerto Rico. The Company has
approximately 450 employees. Please visit the Company's Website at
(http://www.integralifesciences.com).

Certain statements made in this press release related to patents, litigation,
amount of damages and the potential for licensing or strategic partnerships, are
forward-looking, are subject to technological, regulatory, competitive and
economic uncertainty, and the business and legal judgments of third parties (as
well as the other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission), and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

SOURCE:  Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation

CONTACT: John B. Henneman, III of Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation,
609-936-2481, jhenneman@integra-LS.com.