Paris, April 28th, 2009 - Theraclion, the only medtech company in the world developing an innovative technology for the treatment of hyperparathyroidism, today announced the appointments of David Del Bourgo as Business Development Director and Sylvain Yon as Vice President, Research and Development.
“We are delighted to welcome David and Sylvain, who between them are bringing more than 20 years of highly relevant experience to Theraclion. Their dual expertise in medical device technology and healthcare business management will help us prepare the forthcoming commercialization of the Thyros1", commented Ismaël Nujurally, CEO of Theraclion.
David Del Bourgo is an engineering graduate from the University of Technology in Compiègne, France. He also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago. David has more than 12 years of experience in the medtech sector. Before joining Theraclion, David was Director of Marketing and Corporate Development at NASDAQ-listed Orbotech. Previously, he was a Manager in Strategic Consulting at Advention Business Partners and had also worked at General Electric Healthcare for 7 years, notably as Global Marketing Product Manager.
Sylvain Yon graduated in Industrial Physics and Chemistry from the ESCPI engineering school in Paris. He also holds a PhD in Acoustic Physics from the Paris VII University. In 2001, he cofounded Echosens (a company developing a cutting-edge non-invasive technology) and served as its Technical Development Director. Given this background, joining Theraclion was a natural choice for Sylvain, who will provide the company with his extensive expertise in medical device development and ultrasound technology and his dual experience as an engineer and an entrepreneur. In 2007, Sylvain was elected “Engineer of the Year” by the National Council of French Engineers and Scientists.
Theraclion’s Technology
At present, hyperparathyroid patients have to choose between either costly, chronic drug treatment or surgery, with its inherent risks. By leveraging its proprietary Ultrasound Non- Invasive Surgery (“UNIS”) method, Theraclion is developing medical technology which offers a simple, non-invasive, lower-cost, outpatient-based alternative for treating this condition. Thanks to UNIS, the high-intensity, focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment is performed under analgesia and takes around 30 minutes. The target is identified using diagnostic ultrasound and then (thanks to the millimeter accuracy of HIFU beams) only target tissue is destroyed. After the treatment, a blood test is used to check the patient’s parathyroid hormone, calcium and phosphate levels.
About Theraclion
The Paris-based medtech specialist Theraclion was spun out from Edap-Technomed in 2004. By leveraging its proprietary “Ultrasound Non-Invasive Surgery” (“UNIS” method), Theraclion develops, produces and commercializes devices for non-invasive, outpatient treatment of primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism. The technology uses diagnostic ultrasound to identify the target and then high-intensity ultrasound to coagulate the tissue - thus enabling patients to avoid burdensome drug treatment and the risks of surgery. Primary hyperparathyroidism has a potential market of over €300 million and secondary hyperparathyroidism corresponds to a potential of 1.5 million easily accessible patients on dialysis. To date, Theraclion has raised €5.1 million from Truffle Capital, one of its founding investor. Theraclion is primarily responding to the needs of clinics and hospitals in Europe, the United States and Asia. The company has initiated procedures for gaining market approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The United States alone represents half of the global market. For more information on Theraclion, visit http://www.theraclion.fr/
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. As such, they do not guarantee future performance; there are risks and uncertainties. Future scientific, preclinical, clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, financial, commercial and business outcomes may be substantially different from those suggested by the forwardlooking statements. The forward-looking statements are effective only as per the date at the top of this press release.
