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Mirabilis
Medica Names Mike Connolly CEO
SEATTLE, WA – OCTOBER
3, 2006
Mirabilis Medica, Inc., a privately-held
medical device company, today named Mike Connolly as the company’s
new president and chief executive officer. Connolly succeeds
Mirabilis founding CEO Michael Lau, M.D., who will continue
as the company’s Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of
its board of directors. In his new role, Dr. Lau will turn
his attention to facilitating the clinical development and
testing of the company’s first product, an innovative
system for image-guided non- invasive treatment of uterine
fibroids.
“Mirabilis recently raised its first
major financing, and is now poised to accelerate the commercialization
of its unique technologies,” said Lau. “With his
depth of knowledge in medical devices and proven track record
in founding and growing start-up companies, Mike Connolly is
the ideal person to lead Mirabilis through its next phase of
development.”
Before joining Mirabilis, Connolly was a
principal with venture capital firm vSpring Capital, where
he led their New Mexico office and invested in early-stage
life science and technology-based companies. Prior to vSpring,
Mike cofounded 7 biomedical companies, including women’s
healthcare company Novacept (acquired by Cytyc Corp.), and
biomaterials company Cohesion Technologies (acquired by AngioTech
Pharmaceuticals). Early in his career, Mike served as a Navy
officer aboard a destroyer and a physics instructor at the
U.S. Naval Academy. He holds a Stanford MBA, MIT M.S., U.S.
Naval Academy B.S., and Professional Engineer license.
“Mirabilis’ innovative solutions will allow non-invasive treatment
of conditions that have traditionally required invasive surgery,” said
Connolly. “I welcome this opportunity to put a new tool in the hands of
physicians that will allow them to effectively treat uterine fibroids – and
eventually other conditions -- with minimal pain, recovery time, and cost.”
Mirabilis’ patented technology combines
the application of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
under the guidance of conventional imaging (or “diagnostic”)
ultrasound. This leading-edge technology is designed to allow
the physician to accurately target and destroy pathological
tissue deep within the body -- without cutting, puncturing
or otherwise damaging normal tissue, and while carefully monitoring
effects with real-time imaging. This unique ability to simultaneously
see and non-invasively treat could facilitate office-based
therapy for a wide variety of conditions. Mirabilis will initially
target uterine fibroids, a common problem plaguing millions
of women and causing many of them to seek hysterectomy. In
September, Mirabilis closed a $4 million series A financing
which was co-led by venture capital firms Charter Life Sciences
and vSpring Capital.
“This transition reflects Dr. Lau’s success in guiding Mirabilis
to this point,” said Nelson Teng, M.D., Ph.D., managing director of Charter
Life Sciences. “His vision and determination have enabled the company to
assemble its technology platform, begin preparing for human trials, and raise
its first institutional financing. Mike Connolly’s expertise in growing
early-stage medical device companies will ensure the company’s future success.”
About Mirabilis
Mirabilis Medica, based in Seattle, was founded in 2004
by Michael Lau, M.D., FACS, FACOG, Alexander Lebedev M.S.,
MBA, and Shahram Vaezy, Ph.D. The mission of Mirabilis (pronounced “ma-RA-ba-lis”)
is to develop non-invasive solutions for conditions that have
traditionally required invasive surgery. Dr. Vaezy was the
lead inventor of the company’s patented technology, which
was initially developed at University of Washington and exclusively
licensed to Mirabilis. For more information, see www.mirabilismedica.com
CONTACT:
Alexander Lebedev
Director of Operations,
(206) 313-4678
alebedev@mirabilismedica.com
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