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CoreValve names J. C. MacRae as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Publiée le 01/03/2006

MacRae’s 20+ years of global financial management experience working in the medical specialty device and biopharmaceutical industries includes key roles in three successful IPOs

Expected to play a crucial key role in CoreValve’s financial strategies and commercialization of its minimally invasive ReValving™ System for percutaneous aortic valve replacement (PAVR) as a successful alternative to open-heart surgery

IRVINE, Calif., and PARIS, March 1, 2006—CoreValve announced today that it has appointed J. C. MacRae as its Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective immediately. In this position, Mr. MacRae’s immediate focus will include working with CoreValve’s management and board of directors in refining and implementing strategic financial and commercialization plans. Mr. MacRae also will immediately assume responsibilities for CoreValve’s day-to-day financial operations.

“Given the tremendous success we are experiencing in the clinic with our ReValving System, and looking ahead at the potential market that our technology addresses, we will be reviewing a number of future financing opportunities—including an initial public offering—as part of our strategy for funding our continued growth,” said Jacques Séguin, M.D., Ph.D., chairman, CEO, and founder of CoreValve. “Therefore, the timing is perfect to have J. C. MacRae join the CoreValve team. He is a very accomplished and experienced financial manager who is also accustomed to working with emerging companies that are at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and global commercialization.  We expect him to assume an important strategic role as we proceed to leverage the Company’s position as the indisputable leader in percutaneous aortic valve replacement (PAVR) as an alternative to open-heart surgery.”

“J. C. MacRae has extremely impressive financial-management credentials related to the medical specialty device sector in particular, and he adds a whole new dimension to our operations team,” added Rob Michiels, President and Chief Operating Officer of CoreValve. “Our current capitalization has empowered CoreValve to execute its strategic vision of conceiving and manufacturing a proprietary and truly ‘percutaneous’ heart valve design, and to build technical and manufacturing operations in the U.S. as we strive to become a fully integrated company.  Our management team includes professional executives who have been involved with the design, development and manufacturing of not only several heart valves—both aortic and mitral—but also complex catheter systems.  While our past management additions have focused on meeting our technical, clinical and regulatory needs, the time is now right for someone of J. C. MacRae’s background to join our team.  His knowledge and experience in developing financial strategies for technology-based, high-growth medical products companies, as well as exploiting commercial opportunities and raising capital in both private and public equity markets, will greatly contribute to our future success.”

Previously, Mr. MacRae was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at ActivX Biosciences, where he developed and executed a strategy that resulted in the acquisition of the company while overseeing all financial operations, including fundraising and collaboration financing.  Prior to ActiveX Biosciences, Mr. MacRae was Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at ISTA Pharmaceuticals, where he was directly responsible for securing marketing partnerships for the company’s lead product.  He also was responsible for the company’s successful IPO (initial public offering) and instrumental in the acquisition of three products.  Mr. MacRae has also held senior-level executive management positions at Imagyn Medical Inc., InnerSpace Medical Inc., Retroperfusion Systems Inc., and VLI Corporation—all medical device manufacturers.  During his career to date, Mr. MacRae has led three successful IPOs and has a broad range of experience that includes initial product launches worldwide, business development, product licensing, and mergers and acquisitions.  Mr. MacRae earned a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) at California State University at Fullerton.

About CoreValve
Founded in 2001, privately held CoreValve—which is headquartered in Paris and has R&D and manufacturing facilities in Irvine, California—has developed a proprietary delivery system for percutaneous heart valve replacement, based on a novel catheter-and-self-expanding-frame approach on a beating heart, thus avoiding open-heart surgery. The CoreValve procedure—with the proprietary CoreValve Percutaneous ReValving™ System—can be performed in a cardiac “cath lab” just like angioplasty and stenting, resulting in less trauma to the patient and substantial cost-savings to the healthcare system. 

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain “forward-looking” statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These “forward-looking” statements, which may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the projections, financial condition, results of operations and businesses of CoreValve, are based on management’s current expectations and estimates and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences may include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the protection of intellectual property, changes to governmental regulation of medical devices, the FDA’s approval of new products, the impact of competitive products, changes to the competitive environment, the acceptance of new products in the market, conditions of the interventional cardiology industry and the economy and other factors.

Caution
The CoreValve ReValving™ System will not be available in the USA for clinical trials or for commercialization until further notice.