ORTHOCON® Names John J. Pacifico President and Chief Executive Officer

IRVINGTON, N.Y., Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ORTHOCON, Inc., a privately-held therapeutic device company, today announced that John J. Pacifico has been appointed President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the company's Board of Directors.  

Mr. Pacifico joined ORTHOCON in 2007 to lead the company's corporate development and finance functions. As Vice President of Corporate Development, he led ORTHOCON's Series B financing and expanded its technology rights and intellectual property portfolio. In addition, Mr. Pacifico was responsible for the early strategic decisions regarding the company's transition to a commercial organization and, in 2009, was appointed Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations. In this capacity, Mr. Pacifico was responsible for the commercial launch of ORTHOstat®, the company's first FDA-cleared product.  

"ORTHOCON represents an outstanding opportunity for me to build a leading therapeutic device company around a core team of exceptional people and a portfolio of promising products," stated Mr. Pacifico. "I am eager to lead ORTHOCON in its quest to continue to develop and commercialize innovative products that address unmet needs in surgery and post-operative patient care. I am confident ORTHOCON's business is positioned for significant growth and I believe its products will have a dramatic impact on millions of patients each year."

"We have been very pleased with the recent progress of the company and the increasing opportunity for ORTHOstat, its first commercial product. John was the obvious best choice to lead this new era for the organization," said ORTHOCON's Chairman and Canaan Partners' board representative, Seth Rudnick, M.D.

Joyce Tsang, Ph.D., ProQuest Investments' board representative, said, "John's knowledge of the company's technology and marketplace makes him the right leader for ORTHOCON. His background complements the efforts that ORTHOCON is making in defining a leadership position."

Commenting on this change in leadership, Richard L. Kronenthal, Ph.D., ORTHOCON's Founder and principal technology inventor, stated, "Having worked with John for several years, I am convinced his superb business capabilities and entrepreneurial enthusiasm will provide strength and significant growth for our organization."

Mr. Pacifico brings to ORTHOCON a wealth of entrepreneurial experience in addition to a strong company building background gained as a former member of the healthcare venture capital investment team at Canaan Partners. As a company leader and investor, he worked alongside many private and public company management teams and established an extensive network of physicians, business leaders, service providers and investors. Mr. Pacifico earned a MBA from Columbia University and a BS in Finance from the Charles F. Dolan School of Business. He is also an alumnus of the Kauffman Fellows Program.

About ORTHOstat

ORTHOstat provides an advanced, practical solution to actively and reliably stop bone bleeding that may result from surgical incisions or traumatic injuries. Bleeding from cut bone is a common occurrence in many operative procedures. Excessive bleeding from bone during surgery may impair the surgeon's view of the operative field, may result in the need for blood transfusions and may be associated with post-operative complications. ORTHOCON estimates that over 3.5 million patients undergoing surgeries in the United States and Europe each year could benefit from the intra-operative use of ORTHOstat. ORTHOstat is easy to use, synthetic and absorbable.  

About ORTHOCON

Founded in 2005, ORTHOCON develops, manufactures, markets, and sells implantable products designed to stop the bleeding from and to deliver drugs to bone.  

ORTHOCON is funded by leading international venture capital investment firms. The company occupies 8,000 square feet at its new, state-of-the-art facility in Irvington, New York.  For more information, please visit www.orthocon.com.

SOURCE ORTHOCON, Inc.