Procyrion Board of Directors Elects Gary Burbach as Chairman

Procyrion

HOUSTON, TX (July 13th, 2016) – Procyrion, the Houston-based developer of Aortix™, a percutaneous circulatory assist device intended to treat chronic heart failure (HF) and related conditions, today announced Gary Burbach as the company’s Chairman of the Board of Directors. Burbach previously served as an independent director for Procyrion. He also participates as a director or advisor to a number of public and private venture-backed life science companies.

“Gary has been a great addition to our board of directors and I am pleased to have him as our new Chairman,” said Benjamin Hertzog, Procyrion CEO. “Gary’s experience, insight and leadership in the field of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) will be of great benefit to our young company as we progress toward our first clinical trials.”

Prior to joining Procyrion’s Board of Directors, Mr. Burbach served as president, chief executive officer, and director of Thoratec Corporation, a worldwide leader in MCS technology for the treatment of advanced HF, from 2006 to 2014.  Mr. Burbach led the transformation of Thoratec into a scalable and enduring leader in acute and chronic MCS. During his 8-year tenure with Thoratec, annual revenue increased from $125 million to $500 million and corporate net income grew from 7% to 15% of sales. In addition to revenue growth, he successfully led premarket approval clinical trials for the HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) to receive Bridge to Transplant and Destination Therapy approvals.

“It is exciting to be part of such an innovative company that has the opportunity to greatly expand the use of MCS in the treatment of chronic HF” said Mr. Burbach. “I commend the values shared by the Procyrion team and their dedication to developing this important technology.  It is an honor to become Chairman of the Board, and I look forward to helping management craft and execute a strategy for long term growth.”

Burbach currently serves on the boards of Fluidigm Corporation and Autonomic Technologies and also supports Titan Spine and Microfabrica as an executive advisor.

Procyrion’s Aortix is not approved for use or sale.

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ABOUT PROCYRION
Houston-based medical device firm Procyrion, Inc. is developing the first catheter-deployed, intra-aortic pump for ambulatory use. The device is designed to rest and heal the heart by reducing afterload while simultaneously improving blood flow to vital organs. This groundbreaking cardiology tool, conceived by cardiologist Dr. Reynolds M. Delgado, III, medical director of Mechanical Support Devices in Heart Failure at the Texas Heart Institute, is expected to provide a minimally invasive treatment option for millions of chronic heart failure patients. For more information, visit www.procyrion.com or call 713.579.9227.

Contact:
Dana Summers
334.663.4424
dana@penmanpr.com

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