CYTOMEDIX APPOINTS PATRICK VANEK AS VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
Launches Sales and Marketing Initiative in Europe
Rockville, MD. (July 28, 2010) – Cytomedix, Inc. (AMEX:
GTF),
a leading developer of biologically active regenerative
therapies for wound care, inflammation and angiogenesis,
today announced that it has appointed Patrick P. Vanek, R.Ph.
to the newly-created position of Vice President of
Operations.
Mr. Vanek will be responsible for all aspects of the Company's
technical business including oversight of the manufacturing
process by OEM partners, quality assurance and control,
distribution, warehousing and all other operational and
logistical aspects of the process. In addition, Mr. Vanek
will oversee the transition of the control over
manufacturing and supply chain from the Sorin Group to
Cytomedix.
Commenting on the new appointment, Martin
P. Rosendale, President and CEO of Cytomedix, said, "We are
delighted to welcome Patrick to the Cytomedix team.
Patrick's significant and relevant international
manufacturing experience will be of great benefit to
Cytomedix in the cost-effective management of our supply
chain logistics. As our medical devices produce a
therapeutic, his technical background with medical devices
and pharmaceutical training make him ideally suited for this
newly-created role."
Mr. Vanek is an accomplished
pharmaceutical and medical device professional with
diversified technical and managerial experience in
Formulation/Design, Packaging Development, Process
Development, Process Validation, Quality Assurance, Quality
Control, Clinical Supplies and Supply Chain/Logistics.
Prior to joining Cytomedix, Mr. Vanek spent 12 years at
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. where he rose through a
number of managerial positions to become Vice President of
Technical Operations. Prior to that, he was Director, Tablet
Development & Manufacturing Support for KV Pharmaceutical
Corp. Previously, he was Director of Process Development for
Lemmon Company, a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceuticals. Before
that, Mr. Vanek had been with Wyeth Laboratories, Inc. where
he was Unit Supervisor, Solids & Liquids Process
Validation/Validation Coordinator. Mr. Vanek earned a B.S.
in Pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy &
Science and is a Registered Pharmacist.
Separately,
the Company announced that it has engaged international
healthcare consultant, Michael Joos, to lead the Company's
strategic efforts to accelerate sales growth of its Angel®
Whole Blood Separation System and activAT® Autologous
Thrombin Processing Kit in Europe and other key
international markets. These efforts will include seeking
key strategic partnerships, developing a network of key
opinion leaders and expanding the Company's distribution
network. Mr. Joos will also play a key role in preparing the
expected launch of AutoloGel™ into the European market in
the coming months.
In April this year, Cytomedix
acquired the Angel System and activAT products from the
Sorin Group (Milan, Italy) for which Sorin had a number of
European distributor relationships established. As 90% of
the approximately $5 million in Angel System product sales
for 2009 were in the U.S., Cytomedix believes there is
significant opportunity for growth through expansion outside
the U.S., specifically in Europe where the Company has an
initial foothold through these existing relationships.
Commenting on the Company's plans in Europe, Mr.
Rosendale said, "We believe there is a significant and
untapped market for our PRP products in Europe that we can
capitalize on with our clinically focused marketing strategy
and with experienced leadership. Michael brings a
significant and strong international marketing background
from his considerable experience overseeing Cardinal
Health's international division and from his years managing
Johnson and Johnson's European marketing efforts. His skill
set and international network will be an invaluable asset to
Cytomedix as we launch our efforts to expand our
biologically active regenerative therapies into these
overseas markets."
With over 15 years of global sales
and marketing experience at healthcare corporations such as
Cardinal Health, Johnson and Johnson, and Invitrogen, Mr.
Joos has a well established track record of successfully
launching, managing and growing a variety of healthcare
products in international markets. Most recently, Mr. Joos
was Vice President-International with Cardinal Health (now
Carefusion). Previously, he was Director of Marketing
Invitrogen Europe, Middle East & Africa. Prior to that, Mr.
Joos spent a number of years at Johnson and Johnson where he
advanced to become the European Marketing Director.
About Cytomedix, Inc.
Cytomedix is a biotechnology company that develops, sells, and licenses regenerative
biological therapies, to primarily address the areas of wound care, inflammation, and
angiogenesis. The Company currently markets the AutoloGel™ System, a device for the
production of platelet rich plasma (“PRP”) gel derived from the patient’s own blood for
use on a variety of exuding wounds; the Angel® Whole Blood Separation System, a
blood processing device and disposable products used for separation of whole blood
into red cells, platelet poor plasma and platelet rich plasma (“PRP”) in surgical settings;
and the activAT® Autologous Thrombin Processing Kit, which produces autologous
thrombin serum from platelet poor plasma. The activAT® kit is sold exclusively in
Europe and Canada, where it provides a completely autologous, safe alternative to
bovine-derived products. The Company is currently pursuing a multi-faceted strategy to
penetrate the chronic wound market with its products. Cytomedix is also pursuing
opportunities for the application of AutoloGel™ and PRP technology into other markets
such as hair transplantation and orthopedics, as well as actively seeking complementary
products for the wound care market. The Company also seeks to monetize other product
candidates in its pipeline through strategic partnerships, out-licensing, or sale. Additional
information regarding Cytomedix is available at
www.cytomedix.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements contained in
this communication not relating to historical facts are
forward-looking statements that are intended to fall within
the safe harbor rule for such statements under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information
contained in the forward-looking statements is inherently
uncertain, and Cytomedix’s actual results may differ
materially due to a number of factors, many of which are
beyond Cytomedix’s ability to predict or control, including
among others, viability and effectiveness of the Company’s
sales approach and overall marketing strategies, the outcome
of development or regulatory review of CT-112, commercial
success or acceptance by the medical community, competitive
responses, the Company's ability to raise additional capital
and to continue as a going concern, its ability to
successfully commercialize its product in Japan under the
terms of the license agreement, and Cytomedix's ability to
execute on its strategy to market the AutoloGel™ System as
contemplated. These forward-looking statements are subject
to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual events to differ from the forward-looking
statements. More information about some of these risks and
uncertainties may be found in the reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission by Cytomedix, Inc.
Cytomedix operates in a highly competitive and rapidly
changing business and regulatory environment, thus new or
unforeseen risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should
not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a
prediction of actual results. Except as is expressly
required by the federal securities laws, Cytomedix
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, changed circumstances or future events or for
any other reason.
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