Pathfinder Hires Medical Device Veteran as President and CEO

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Pathfinder Therapeutics, a medical device company with first to market products for "surgical GPS" of the abdomen, is pleased to announce that it has hired Jim Cloar as President and CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Cloar previously held the position of General Manager of the Navigation and Imaging division at Medtronic. Under his leadership, the division globally launched numerous new products in the field of Cranial Neurosurgery, ENT, Spine and Orthopedics. Jim's leadership provided the drive to successfully acquire and integrate Breakaway Imaging, expand partnerships with synergistic organizations and develop a highly successful service organization leading to rapid growth during a very difficult time for capital equipment. Mr. Cloar has held increasingly complex leadership positions in device company leaders including Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Depuy Orthopaedics, Smith & Nephew and C. R. Bard.

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"We conducted a nationwide search to find the best leader at this critical time in our company's history, to take the company to the next level of commercial success," said Marc Buntaine, Executive Chairman of Pathfinder. "We are thrilled to have Jim on board, and we look forward to exciting growth for the company."

Mr. Cloar takes this key leadership role in advance of the American Hepato Pancreato-Billary Association (AHPBA) conference, where Pathfinder will showcase their image-guided liver surgical products utilized across the United States in leading cancer centers daily. The first installations of Pathfinder's systems are at UPMC, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Barnes Jewish Hospital and NIH.

"I am excited to lead a dynamic organization with innovative products that is committed to helping patients through engagement with our surgeon customers," said Jim Cloar, President and CEO of Pathfinder. "With our team focus on research and development, as well as clinical and economic outcomes, we will provide our customers with increasingly effective planning and navigation tools to address patient needs. Pathfinder's ability to increase the number of operable liver cancers using less invasive surgical procedures will help liver surgeons to save and extend lives while driving cost effective health care."

About Pathfinder

Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc. is a medical device company dedicated to increasing the number and effectiveness of surgeries on abdominal and other soft tissue organs. Pathfinder improves surgical precision by allowing surgeons to "see through" the organ they are operating on by registering the surgical instrument in three-dimensional space onto pre-operative patient medical images. Pathfinder is the first company to receive FDA clearance for a medical device to navigate liver surgery using preoperative medical images. The Explorer system uses state-of-the-art line of sight localization and laser range scanning surface registration techniques to show surgeons where they are in the context of their target organ and underlying structures. In addition to Explorer, Pathfinder sells Scout, a software system for liver surgery planning. The Company is also developing an embodiment of Explorer to be used in minimally invasive surgical interventions in the liver. Beyond the liver, Pathfinder is developing guidance systems for the kidney, pancreas, and other organs. For more information, visit www.pathsurg.com.

Media Contact: Jim Cloar, Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc., 615-783-0094, [email protected]

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SOURCE Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc.