ROCKVILLE, Md., July 28, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cytomedix, Inc. (NYSE 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. Most notably is its anti-inflammatory peptide (designated "CT-112") that has shown promise in pre-clinical testing. 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, Cytomedix's ability to execute on its strategy to market the AutoloGel™ System as contemplated, the Company's ability to capitalize on opportunities in the European market, the Company's ability to successfully integrate the Angel® and activAT® product lines into its existing business, to assume and satisfy certain liabilities related to the Angel® and activAT® product lines, or its ability to service the deferred payments related to the acquisition of the Angel® and activAT® product lines. 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.