REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cardica, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRDC) today announced that Brian E. Farley has agreed to be a strategic, financial and business consultant to the company.
Mr. Farley was the first employee of VNUS Medical Technologies (VNUS) in 1995 and served as a member of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer of VNUS from January 1996 until the company was acquired by Covidien for approximately $500 million in June 2009. VNUS pioneered the concept of minimally invasive varicose vein ablation and was the leader in technology and market development. Mr. Farley was instrumental in building the VNUS business to over $100 million in annual revenue by focusing on clinical outcomes, reimbursement, and developing fast and easy to use products. Prior to VNUS, Mr. Farley held various management and executive positions in research and development, clinical research and business development at Guidant Corporation and within the medical device division of Eli Lilly & Company. He currently serves on the boards of directors of privately held medical device companies Entellus Medical, Inc. and Neuronetics, Inc. Mr. Farley holds both a B.S. in Engineering with an emphasis in Biomedical Engineering and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.
"Brian brings 30 years of medical device experience and management expertise, which we believe will be instrumental as we focus on developing the Cardica Microcutter and continue to implement our revised sales strategy for our cardiac surgery business," said Bernard A. Hausen, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Cardica.
"I am excited to work with Cardica, as I believe the company has tremendous commercial and development growth opportunities ahead in multiple laparoscopic surgery markets," commented Mr. Farley. "I'm very impressed with Cardica's technical capabilities and product development execution, and believe the Cardica Microcutter has the potential to change the landscape of laparoscopic surgery moving forward."
About Cardica
Cardica designs and manufactures proprietary stapling devices for surgical procedures. Cardica's stapling technology is designed to minimize operating time and to enable minimally-invasive and robot-assisted surgeries. Cardica manufactures its automated anastomosis systems, the C-Port® Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System, for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and has shipped over 25,000 units throughout the world. In addition, Cardica is developing the Cardica Microcutter, a true multi-fire endoscopic stapling device designed to be used in a variety of procedures, including bariatric, thoracic and general surgery.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including all statements regarding Cardica's ability to develop the Cardica Microcutter and to implement its revised sales strategy for its cardiac products, the possible impact Mr. Farley's involvement may have on the Company's development and commercial prospects and the therapeutic and commercial potential of the Cardica Microcutter. Any statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words "potential," "opportunity," and "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Cardica's results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including that Cardica's current and any future products may never gain any significant degree of market acceptance; that Cardica may not be successful in its efforts to develop the Cardica Microcutter and expand its product portfolio; that any future Cardica products face development, regulatory, reimbursement and manufacturing risks; that Cardica's intellectual property rights may not provide adequate protection; that Cardica's sales, marketing and distribution strategy and capabilities may not be sufficient or successful; and that recent workforce reductions and general business and economic conditions may impair Cardica's ability to market and develop products, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in Cardica's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2009. Cardica does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. You are encouraged to read Cardica's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.
SOURCE Cardica, Inc.
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