LAKE FOREST, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 2006--Sirtex Medical Inc., a leading developer of targeted and innovative cancer therapies, is pleased to welcome Nat Geissel as its U.S. CEO of sales and marketing operations. Sirtex manufactures SIR-Spheres® microspheres, the only FDA-approved microsphere treatment for advanced colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver. The company’s U.S. headquarters are based in Lake Forest, Ill.
Mr. Geissel previously served as President of DMS Health Technologies in Fargo, N.D. He joined DMS in 2000 as senior vice president. Prior to joining DMS, Mr. Geissel was a vice president at R.P. Kincheloe Company in Dallas, where he oversaw the sale of diagnostic imaging equipment and service in Texas and Oklahoma. He also worked for Philips Medical Systems as an account manager in Iowa City, Iowa. Mr. Geissel began his career in the hospital setting, with management roles in administration and radiology at major medical centers in Iowa and Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Iowa.
“We are excited to have Nat Geissel assume this important leadership role in our U.S. operations,” says Gilman Wong, CEO of Sirtex Medical Ltd. “Sirtex continues to expand the use of SIR-Spheres in the United States with additional treating centers offering the therapy, ongoing research initiatives and educational programs aimed to improve the lives of people with advanced metastatic liver cancer. Mr. Geissel’s experience in health technology--especially as it pertains to diagnostic imaging and radiology--will play a vital role in the growth of the company and in expanding Sirtex’s technologies.”
Sirtex’s SIR-Spheres microspheres are radioactive polymer spheres that emit beta radiation. Physicians insert a catheter through the groin into the hepatic artery and deliver millions of SIR-Spheres microspheres directly to the tumor site. The SIR-Spheres microspheres target the liver tumors, sparing healthy liver tissue. Clinical research shows that the use of SIR-Spheres microspheres increases patient survival rates by an average of five to six months.
Approximately 55 physicians in the United States use Sirtex’s SIR-Spheres microspheres in more than 60 medical centers. The minimally invasive procedure is performed on an out-patient basis with minor side effects.
About Sirtex
SIR-Spheres microspheres were developed in the 1980s in Australia and gained FDA approval in March 2002. Sirtex has obtained regulatory approval to market SIR-Spheres microspheres in the U.S., European Union, Israel and Australia. The product is marketed in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. For more information, visit www.sirtex.com
® SIR-Spheres is a registered Trademark of Sirtex Medical Limited Contact: For Sirtex Andrea Moody, 919-457-0743 andrea.moody@fleishman.com
Source: Sirtex
