Mauna Kea Technologies Announces Key Management Changes to Accelerate the Commercial Deployment of Cellvizio(R) in North America

PARIS--(Marketwire - October 04, 2011) - Mauna Kea Technologies (EURONEXT PARIS: MKEA), the leader in the endomicroscopy market, today announced that it has named medical device industry veteran Thierry Thaure Chief Executive Officer of its North American subsidiary. Former North American President Chris Tihansky will lead the company’s expansion efforts as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development.

“We are delighted to welcome Thierry Thaure as the head of our North American operations,” said Sacha Loiseau, CEO and the founder of Mauna Kea Technologies. “Thierry brings with him an exceptional experience in establishing and growing sales and marketing teams for rapidly-expanding medical technologies companies like ours. We are confident that with Thierry at the helm in the U.S., the company will enjoy strong growth.”

“We thank Chris for building a solid foundation of relationships with key opinion leaders and hospital executives around the U.S. Under his leadership, we have established a strong North American user base, with over 40 U.S. hospitals now offering Cellvizio® endomicroscopy to patients who can benefit from more accurate diagnoses and immediate treatments,” Mr. Loiseau continued. “With additional resources as a result of our initial public offering, we are now in a position to capitalize on Chris’s broad industry knowledge and pursue new partnering and expansion opportunities.”

Mr. Tihansky and Mr. Thaure will report directly to Mr. Loiseau.

“I am proud to be offered the chance to lead the team in the U.S. and grow the business as we aim to make our technology a new standard of care,” Mr. Thaure said. “As an observer to the company’s Board of Directors, I’ve recognized the talent at the company and the enormous potential of its flagship product, Cellvizio. I’m incredibly enthusiastic to be able to leverage the solid base set up by Chris and his team and implement the sales and marketing infrastructure needed to support the company’s U.S. business strategy for large-scale commercial deployment of the recently-cleared Cellvizio 100 Series.”

On August 29, the company announced that the FDA had cleared the Cellvizio 100 Series, its next-generation endomicroscopy system for imaging the GI and pulmonary tracts.

“The U.S. team has accomplished a great deal in its pursuit to establish the field of endomicroscopy throughout North America. We have forged a successful commercialization pathway while developing strong relationships with leading physicians, hospitals and medical societies,” Mr. Tihansky said. “In my new role, I look forward to helping the company develop new strategic collaborations and partnerships that will expand our capabilities and ensure long-term success of this innovative technology worldwide.”

Mr. Thaure, former President and CEO of EndoGastric Solutions (EGS), has more than 30 years of experience in the medical device industry. During his career, he has built successful businesses including four start-up medical device companies (Origin MedSystems Inc., Intuitive Surgical Inc., ISRG and Accuray Inc.) and helped introduce technologies and procedures that have pushed the boundaries of minimally invasive surgery in the North American market. Prior to joining EGS, Thierry Thaure was Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Accuray and first VP Sales and Marketing at Robotic leader Intuitive Surgical.

Mr. Tihansky joined Mauna Kea Technologies in January 2008 as the President of its U.S. subsidiary and also brings 23 years of industry experience to his new role. He started his career as a project engineer then as a sales representative in orthopedics. In the mid-1990s, Chris was Senior Healthcare Analyst at Genesis Merchant Group, an investment banking firm based in San Francisco. He then joined Teleflex Medical where he was appointed Vice President and General Manager for the surgical instrument business. In 2003, Chris became President and CEO of Surgical Services Inc. Chris holds an MBA from the University of San Diego, an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University.

About Mauna Kea Technologies
Mauna Kea Technologies is a global medical device company and leader in the endomicroscopy market. The company researches, develops and markets innovative tools to visualize and detect abnormalities in the gastro-intestinal and pulmonary tracts. Its flagship product, Cellvizio®, a probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (pCLE) system, provides physicians and researchers high-resolution cellular views of tissue inside the body. Large, international, multi-center clinical trials have demonstrated Cellvizio’s ability to help physicians more accurately detect early forms of disease and make treatment decisions immediately. Designed to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs within a hospital, Cellvizio can be used with almost any endoscope. Cellvizio has 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European CE-Mark for use in the GI and pulmonary tracts.

For more information about Mauna Kea Technologies visit www.maunakeatech.com

Disclaimer
This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe to, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe to, shares in Mauna Kea Technologies (“the Company”) in any country. This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to the Company’s objectives. Such forward-looking statements are based solely on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company’s management and involve risk and uncertainties. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, whether the Company will be successful in implementing its strategies, whether there will be continued growth in the relevant market and demand for the Company’s products, new products or technological developments introduced by competitors, and risks associated with managing growth. Unfavorable developments in connection with these and other risks and uncertainties described, in particular, in the Company’s prospectus prepared in connection with its IPO and on which the French Autorité des marches financiers (“AMF”) granted its visa number 11-236 on June 20, 2011, could cause the Company to fail to achieve the objectives expressed by the forward-looking statements above.