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April 27, 2004
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Affinergy to Add Medical Device Experts, Proven Entrepreneurs, and Experienced Investors to its Board of Directors in Conjunction with Initial $1 Million of Investment
New directors bring expertise in medical device commercialization, business development, strategy, and corporate partnering.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 27, 2004 - Affinergy, Inc., a biomaterial coatings company with unique capabilities to regulate biological processes on the surface of synthetic materials, announced today that it will appoint three new outside members to its Board of Directors as part of its initial seed funding. The new directors include Jeffery C. Basham, Bruce J. Boehm, and William J. Mercer who will be joining existing directors Daniel J. Kenan and Peyton C. Anderson.
The announcement comes on the heels of the $1 million in seed funding secured just 10 weeks after licensing the core technology from Duke University.
"We are delighted with the speed at which these investments have occurred," said Anderson, Affinergy's CEO. "The early funding reinforces what we see as Affinergy's compelling opportunity. Affinergy's technology has the potential to enable the convergence of medical devices and therapeutics - a market in an exponential growth phase."
"Jeff, Bruce, and Bill each bring very relevant skills and proven track records to Affinergy's team," Anderson said. "It was critical to secure top-tier board members with such great experience and connections in our key markets to help us prioritize and focus our activities given the rich set of markets and products where we can apply the technology. Attracting this type of expertise and talent is a great validation for our company."
"This is another very significant step in Affinergy's development as these new directors are a perfect complement to the strong team of scientific advisors we have assembled," said Kenan, Affinergy's co-founder and assistant professor of pathology at Duke University Medical Center. "Adding such a great team of business advisors should allow us to fully leverage the talent and enthusiasm within the scientific team."
About the Board Members
Jeffery C. Basham serves on the board of directors of Coastal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a newly formed subsidiary of Metrics, Inc. Coastal is a pharmaceutical development company focusing on niche specialty generic pharmaceutical product development. He has 30 years of experience in the healthcare product sector. Since 1981, Basham has been involved in the founding and business development of various medical product and service companies. He has held the position of CEO or president of various early stage companies including Colmed Ltd, CRX Medical, and TriPoint Medical (now called Closure Medical). His other business development activities have been associated with Alza Corp., Oasis Biosciences, Inceutica, and Flologic Inc. Basham holds an undergraduate degree from The American University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School.
Bruce J. Boehm is an independent venture capitalist. During his career he has been a director of more than 25 publicly and privately held companies, including Ventritex, an implantable defibrillator company sold to St. Jude, Spectranetics, a laser angioplasty company, and SciQuest. Boehm previously was a general partner of U. S. Venture Partners in Menlo Park with responsibility for a portfolio of approximately 20 healthcare and technology investments. Prior to 1982, he was employed by a number of Silicon Valley and Route 128 companies as an engineer and project manager. Boehm received a BS from MIT and an MS and an MBA from Stanford University.
William J. Mercer is the Founder and Managing Member of Avocet Ventures, LLC, a private equity investment firm. Prior to his current position, Mr. Mercer served as Managing Partner of Aberdeen Strategic Capital, LP, and a private equity firm. From 1996 through 1999, Mr. Mercer was the President and Chief Executive Officer, and director, of ALARIS Medical, Inc., a manufacturer of advanced medical instruments and devices. From 1995 through 1996, Mr. Mercer was the President and Chief Executive Officer, and director, of IVAC Medical Systems, Inc. an infusion therapy and patient monitoring company. Prior to that, Mr. Mercer spent over 17 years, primarily in medical imaging, with Mallinckrodt, Inc., a global healthcare company. Mr. Mercer serves on the boards of Intuitive Surgical, Inc., a manufacturer of operative robotic instruments and related devices, Invitrogen Corporation, a molecular biology and cell culture company, Rotech Healthcare, Inc., a respiratory therapy and durable medical equipment services company, and, R2 Technology, Inc., a privately held medical imaging software company. Mr. Mercer received a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from North Carolina State University and a certificate from the Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School.
About Affinergy
Affinergy's revolutionary "biological glue" is a platform technology that greatly improves the performance of medical devices by regulating the biology on their surfaces by targeting applications to block biofilm formation, promote specific cell growth, and enable biomolecular immobilization. The coatings technology is highly modular, target-specific, and easy to apply in manufacturing. Affinergy can help medical device suppliers grow sales by differentiating existing devices as well as creating new products. By creating "tunable" bioactive surfaces on medical devices, Affinergy can contribute to the lowering of healthcare costs and improving of patient outcomes.
For more information, visit www.affinergy.com or contact Peyton Anderson at (919) 345-4732.
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