NUCRYST appoints new Chairman & CEO
WAKEFIELD, MA, August 22, 2007 – The Board of Directors of NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp. today announced the appointment of Thomas E. Gardner as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company effective immediately. Mr. Gardner replaces Barry M. Heck as Chairman and Scott H. Gillis as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Gillis is resigning his management and Board positions following eight years of leading NUCRYST to pursue new opportunities. Mr. Heck will remain as a director.
“A key role that was assigned to me as Executive Chairman was to work with the Board to assess the assets and needs of the Company,†said Mr. Heck. “We determined that Tom Gardner’s experience in managing emerging healthcare technology companies would benefit NUCRYST in the development and commercialization of our pipeline of medical products. Tom is an experienced CEO with a track record of creating shareholder value. We are excited about the prospect of his bringing that kind of success to NUCRYST. Scott Gillis has done an excellent job leading the company’s development over the past eight years and he played a pivotal role in establishing our collaboration agreement with Smith & Nephew, which resulted in the global sale and distribution of Acticoatâ„¢ antimicrobial dressings with NUCRYST’s SILCRYSTâ„¢ nanocrystals. We thank him for his many contributions to NUCRYST’s growth and we look forward to his continued support as we complete this management transition.â€
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“I look forward to building on the Company’s successes to date and the opportunity to generate significant shareholder value,†said Mr. Gardner. “Among our top priorities is leveraging our nanocrystalline silver platform technology, which is the basis for our commercial agreement with Smith & Nephew and their Acticoatâ„¢ brand of wound dressings.â€
A director of NUCRYST since May 2007, Mr. Gardner specializes in the strategic positioning of companies with particular emphasis on pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare information. Prior to his current assignments, Mr. Gardner was CEO of a number of public and private companies including: Songbird Hearing, Datamonitor, Base Ten Systems, and Access Health. From 1970 to 1995, Mr. Gardner held senior marketing and general management positions at Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Simon & Schuster and IMS Health. He currently holds board seats at several privately held companies, including IntegriChain, VisiLED and Virium Pharmaceuticals.
NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals develops, manufactures and commercializes medical products that fight infection and inflammation using its patented atomically disordered nanocrystalline silver technology. Smith & Nephew plc sell a range of advanced wound care products under their Acticoat™ trade mark: Acticoat™ products incorporate NUCRYST’s SILCRYST™ coatings and are sold in over 30 countries. NUCRYST is also developing new medical products to address conditions that are characterized by infection and inflammation.