Uptake Medical® Expands Executive Team, Announces European General Manager Lloyd Mencinger

TUSTIN, Calif., Sept. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Uptake Medical® Corp., maker of InterVapor™, a minimally invasive treatment for severe emphysema, today announced that seasoned medical device executive Lloyd Mencinger has joined the company as European General Manager, effective September 1, 2011.

Mr. Mencinger joins Uptake Medical with nearly three decades of broad functional experience with medical device leaders such as Boston Scientific, Baxter, and American Hospital Supply and most recently with Tenent Healthcare serving as Senior Vice President of Business Development, providing him with insights into the evolving healthcare environment. His tenure with Boston Scientific included nearly 10 years living within the European Union focusing on sales, marketing, business development, operations and clinical economics & government affairs.

"It is rare to find such broad functional expertise in one individual. We are thrilled to welcome Lloyd to Uptake Medical," said King Nelson, President and CEO. "Specifically, Lloyd's extensive experience in building markets for innovative technologies, his understanding of global healthcare environments and his ability to navigate appropriate channels to secure reimbursement will be major assets as we move towards commercialization."

InterVapor is the first and only personalized endoscopic lung volume reduction procedure to use the energy of heated water vapor and the body's own healing process to target hyperinflation. With InterVapor, the diseased lung volume is reduced, giving patients with severe emphysema clinically meaningful improvement in breathing function and quality of life. This is done without implants or chemicals being placed or left behind in the delicate lung tissue.

About his appointment, Mr. Mencinger commented, "The global burden of emphysema is large and growing, and the opportunity to introduce a unique technology, such as InterVapor, to help this population of patients is truly exciting. Uptake Medical's pioneering approach to lung volume reduction is certain to help improve the quality of life for many emphysema sufferers."

About Emphysema:

Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are captured under the umbrella of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The Word Health Organization has stated that the incidence of COPD is on the rise, on pace to becoming the third leading cause of death by 2030. In the United States, where nearly 5 million people are diagnosed with emphysema, it already holds this position, with one person dying every 4 minutes. Debilitating and costly, nearly $50 billion was spent on the direct and indirect costs associated with COPD in the U.S. in 2010.

About Uptake Medical:

With headquarters in Tustin, Calif., Uptake Medical develops innovative medical technologies for the treatment of lung diseases. Its first product, InterVapor, is the first and only approach to endoscopic lung volume reduction for people with severe emphysema that uses the body's natural healing process without leaving any foreign materials in the lung. In clinical studies, InterVapor has demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in breathing function, exercise capacity and quality of life. More information can be found at www.uptakemedical.com.

Uptake Medical and InterVapor are registered trademarks and trademarks of Uptake Medical.

SOURCE Uptake Medical Corp.