SAN LUIS OBISPO, California – July 19, 2005 – FzioMed, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of John S. Krelle as President and Chief Operating Officer of the privately held biomaterials company. Ronald F. Haynes, founder of FzioMed, will continue in his role as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.
As President and COO, John will be responsible for overall operations and execution of the company’s goals and strategies. “FzioMed is well positioned with substantial technology assets, a talented workforce and a pipeline of exciting new products, to become a global leader in the surgical biomaterials markets,” John said today.
John has more than twenty-five years leadership experience in the medical device industry spanning three continents. He most recently worked for Zimmer, Inc. where he held a succession of increasingly complex positions including, President Spine/Trauma, President Asia-Pacific, President Japan, Chairman Zimmer KK, and Vice President/General Manager Canada, Latin America and Asia Pacific operations. John was head of Business Development when Zimmer Holdings acquired Swiss-based Centerpulse AG in 2003. He was also a part of the senior management team that made Zimmer a publicly traded company in August 2001.
“We are poised for significant growth and John Krelle is an outstanding choice to lead FzioMed at this important stage,” said Ron Haynes. “His extensive background in directing rapidly-growing medical device operations and in commercial execution is an excellent fit and ideally suited to our expansion plans. We are very pleased to welcome John to the FzioMed team.”
FzioMed is a privately held medical company engaged in the development and commercialization of synthetic, absorbable biomaterials based on the company’s patented Oxiplex technology. FzioMed is developing products for the prevention of postsurgical adhesions, tissue augmentation and regeneration, and the delivery of drugs. Oxiplex is an innovative polymer technology with uses in a variety of specialties including orthopedics, gynecology, general surgery, neurosurgery and aesthetic surgery. FzioMed products include Oxiplex/SP, the leading adhesion barrier for spine surgery currently marketed outside of the United States, Oxiplex/AP adhesion barrier for gynecologic and general surgery, and a cosmetic dermal filler. Other FzioMed products are in various stages of development and are directed towards high growth biomaterials markets.
FzioMed® and Oxiplex® are registered trademarks of FzioMed, Inc.