Healthcare Industry News:  Kyphon 

Devices Venture Capital Personnel

 News Release - August 1, 2006

Dr. Tony Chou Joins The Vertical Group

SUMMIT, N.J., Aug. 1 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- The Vertical Group, a leading medical technology venture capital firm, announced today that Tony Chou, M.D. has joined the firm as a venture partner in its Palo Alto office. Dr. Chou is an interventional cardiologist and formerly Vice President and General Manager of Abbott Vascular, a division of Abbott Laboratories. Jack Lasersohn, a general partner of The Vertical Group said, "We are delighted that Dr. Chou is joining our team on the West Coast. His clinical and industry experience will further enhance our ability to participate in healthcare investment opportunities and add significant value to many of our portfolio companies."

Since 2001 Dr. Chou has been an executive at Abbott Vascular, and most recently was the General Manager of their vessel closure business. During his tenure at Abbott, Dr. Chou managed the IDE study, the PMA process, and the global launch of the StarClose femoral closure device. In addition, he was a member of the business development team that executed Abbott Vascular strategic transactions including the alliance with Medtronic covering drug eluting stent technology, and the acquisitions of Integrated Vascular Systems, Mednova, the Jomed cardiovascular assets, and the Biocompatibles cardiovascular franchise. Prior to joining Abbott, Dr. Chou was the Director of the Adult Cardiac Cath Lab at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he remains Associate Professor of Medicine. Dr. Chou received his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University and B.S. in Physics and Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

The Vertical Group is one of the largest venture capital firms in the United States focused on medical devices and biotechnology. The firm and its partners have founded or led investments in many of the most successful venture-backed medical device companies of the past two decades including: SciMed Life Systems, Kyphon Inc., ev3 Inc., CardioThoracic Systems, Support Systems International, E.P. Technologies, Cardiovascular Imaging Systems, Ventana Medical Systems, Integrated Vascular Systems, Spinecore, Optos, Osteobiologics, and Masimo Corporation. The Vertical Group also has been an active and successful investor in medical device companies involved in corporate buyout and spin-off transactions including Xomed Surgical Products, American Medical Systems, Wright Medical Group, and Tornier.

Headquartered in Summit, NJ, The Vertical Group has been an independent firm since 1988. The firm's principals include five general partners: Stephen D. Baksa, Richard B. Emmitt, Yue-Teh Jang, Jack W. Lasersohn, and John E. Runnells; and two special limited partners: Edward M. Giles, former President of F. Eberstadt & Co., Inc. and Patrick R.D. Paul, founder and former CEO of Support Systems International.


Source: The Vertical Group

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