Vertos Readies for Commercialization with New Headquarters, Training Center and Strategic Hires
ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – March 31, 2009 – Vertos Medical, Inc., a privately held medical device manufacturer that developed the proprietary mild® (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression) procedure to treat patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), today announced the opening of its new physician training facility and headquarters in Aliso Viejo, Calif. Additionally, two seasoned medical device executives have joined the company. Michael Enxing has been appointed vice president of U.S. sales, and Charlene Myers has been appointed director of clinical research. These moves further prepare Vertos for the national commercial rollout of mild, the least invasive surgical procedure for LSS, with no implants left behind.*
"Numerous physicians are trained and now doing the mild procedure, and there is a growing interest in training from the physician community. To support this effort, we've opened a new state-of-the-art training facility," said James M. Corbett, president and chief executive officer of Vertos. "This better enables Vertos to train large groups of doctors efficiently and effectively." The San Jose operations have been converted to the Vertos Technology Center where research and development and manufacturing will remain.
"Another significant milestone for Vertos is the addition of Michael Enxing and Charlene Myers to our senior management team. Both are experienced in bringing innovative new technologies to market," continued Corbett.
Prior to joining Vertos to lead its sales team, Enxing worked with a variety of medical device companies, including Stryker, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (now integrated into St. Jude Medical), Tecnol Medical Products and Cardiovascular Systems Inc. Enxing has more than 18 years of sales and sales management experience, including launching and growing new commercial products, and has extensive knowledge of the spine market.
Myers' experience encompasses a wide range of medical specialties and leadership roles at PowerVision, Genyx Medical, Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Endo-Surgery and Alcon Laboratories. She has more than 20 years of clinical research background in IDE/PMA processes and regulations, post-approval market support data collection and technical writing. As the director of clinical research for Vertos, Myers will oversee the Institutional Review Board-controlled clinical trial called the Vertos mild Preliminary Patient Evaluation Study, which is designed to gather additional post-market data on the procedure. The study is being conducted at approximately 30 centers across the United States.
About Vertos Medical, Inc.
Vertos Medical was founded in 2005 to develop a percutaneous method for lumbar spine decompression to treat
patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), a
degenerative, age-related narrowing of the lower spinal canal. Its first
proprietary platform technology, called mild® (Minimally
Invasive Lumbar Decompression), is the least invasive surgical procedure
for treating LSS, with no implants left behind.* mild is market cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for decompression of the lumbar spine. More than 1.5 million
Americans suffer from chronic pain and immobility caused by lumbar spinal
stenosis. Approximately 700,000 of them are in some form of treatment for LSS
every year (Source: CMS database). Treating LSS patients earlier and least invasively, which mild provides
for, reduces overall health care costs. For more information, visit www.vertosmed.com.
*Vertos mild is FDA market cleared for treating central canal stenosis of the lumbar spine.
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