Benvenue Medical Adds Two Senior Executives in Sales and Marketing

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Benvenue Medical, Inc., a developer of minimally invasive solutions for spine repair, announced the addition of two key members of the senior management team with deep sales and marketing experience that will lead product commercialization efforts in the US and Europe. Paul Byerley was appointed Vice President of Sales after serving as Vice President of Sales, Orthobiologics at Baxter Healthcare, and Ben Murdock was appointed Senior Director of Marketing after serving in marketing, sales and sales management positions for DFine, Inc. and Kyphon Inc.  Benvenue Medical is entering a $9 billion global spinal device market with three breakthrough minimally invasive products to treat degenerative disc disease (DDD) and vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), including its flagship product, the Kiva® VCF Treatment System.

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"Paul and Ben bring extensive experience in direct sales, marketing and distribution strategies with substantial working knowledge of the spine and kyphoplasty markets," said Robert Weigle, CEO of Benvenue Medical.  "Paul has a proven track record in building and leading an effective sales team, with impressive results in accelerating revenues.  Ben has successfully managed marketing teams and new product launches in the US and Europe within the orthopedic spine and interventional radiology markets.  We're pleased to add their talents and expertise at such an exciting time for Benvenue Medical."

Paul will be responsible for global sales at Benvenue Medical.  He joined the company after spending more than 20 years in medical device sales, with a majority of his career focused on the spine and orthopedics markets.  Before Baxter, he gained extensive sales management experience at Apatech, Interpore Cross International, Endius, Surgical Dynamics, and was a distributor principal at Focus Surgical.  Paul began his career in sales with Johnson & Johnson.

Ben will lead the marketing efforts at Benvenue Medical with over 10 years of medical device experience in marketing and sales. Previously, he held the position of Director of Marketing for DFine, Inc, responsible for the US marketing efforts focused on treating vertebral pathologies with radio frequency energy-based products.  Prior to DFine, Ben spent eight years at Kyphon Inc. holding various sales, sales management and marketing management positions in the US and Europe.  During that time he spent two years overseas as Director of Product Management leading the product marketing team to successfully launch multiple new product lines within Europe.

Benvenue Medical's Kiva VCF Treatment System, now commercially available in Europe, has now been used to treat more than 500 VCFs globally.  The Kiva VCF Treatment System provides an innovative approach to the treatment of painful VCFs.  The Kiva System delivers a percutaneously-introduced, cylindrical PEEK-OPTIMA® implant to stabilize and provide structural support to the vertebral body and serve as a conduit for bone cement placement.  The National Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that there are 700,000 osteoporosis-related vertebral compression fractures annually in the US alone, yet 200,000 kyphoplasty procedures are done globally.  

In the US, the Kiva VCF Treatment System is being evaluated versus balloon kyphoplasty in vertebral compression fractures in the KAST (Kiva® System as a Vertebral Augmentation Treatment – A Safety and Effectiveness Trial) which is an IDE being conducted in support of a future 510(k) market clearance application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  

About Benvenue Medical, Inc.

Founded in 2004, Benvenue Medical, Inc. is advancing spine repair through the development of proprietary, minimally invasive surgical and interventional solutions. The company is privately held and funded by Versant Ventures, DeNovo Ventures, Domain Associates and Technology Partners.  Its first products are designed for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures and degenerative disc disease, which have combined $1.6 billion revenues globally. For more information, visit www.benvenuemedical.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Betsy Merryman
Merryman Communications
[email protected]
310-560-8176

SOURCE Benvenue Medical, Inc.