Uptake Medical Announces Scott Huennekens Elected to Board of Directors

IRVINE, Calif., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Uptake Medical® Corp., a developer of medical technologies for the non-surgical treatment of lung diseases including emphysema, announced today that Scott Huennekens, President and CEO of Volcano Corporation, (Nasdaq: VOLC) has joined the company's Board of Directors.

Mr. Huennekens has served as President, CEO and Director of Volcano since April 2002. He led the company from a pre-revenue start-up to its IPO in 2006 and its current market-leading position through consistent growth by utilizing innovative technologies, strong clinical science and focused expansion throughout the global markets. He's been successful in leading both private and public traded companies. From 2000-2002, he headed Digirad Corporation, a medical device imaging company. From 1993-1997 he was at Baxter Healthcare's Cardiovascular Group (Edwards Lifesciences). Mr. Huennekens is a member of the Board of Directors of Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) and BIOCOM. He received his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

King Nelson, President and CEO of Uptake Medical said, "We're thrilled to have Scott join our Board of Directors at this important time as we transition from development to commercialization of our InterVapor™ system. He's a very well respected businessman, innovator and strategic thinker, and is experienced in global business operations. He has an incredible understanding of the trends in the medical device marketplace and the clinicians' mindset."

He also added, "Scott is one of the true opinion leaders in the medical device area and we're excited to have him join the company. He'll be very helpful as Uptake Medical moves toward early commercialization outside the U.S. and initiates pivotal U.S. clinical trial activities in 2011. He'll provide critical guidance as Uptake continues to build upon the industry's best clinical results for the large number of emphysema sufferers around the world. Scott has demonstrated success in helping combine innovative technology and science in creative ways to bring treatment solutions to patients."

Mr. Huennekens stated, "I look forward to working with the Uptake Medical team to bring their innovative InterVapor system to patients suffering from emphysema throughout the world. The clinical results to date are very encouraging and offer great promise. I'm excited about Uptake's prospects."

About Uptake Medical

Uptake Medical® Corp. is a developer of medical technologies for the treatment of lung diseases including emphysema. The core InterVapor technology is a simple, minimally invasive, non-implant interventional pulmonary approach designed to measurably improve lung function and patient quality of life. Emphysema afflicts over 4.5 million people in the United States. It is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), primarily caused by smoking, and is a major cause of chronic disease and death throughout the world. It accounts for over $40 billion in healthcare costs. More information and a list of participating clinical trial sites can be found at http://www.uptakemedical.com/.

SOURCE Uptake Medical Corp.