NeuroMetrix Appoints David Van Avermaete to Board of Directors

NeuroMetrix Inc., a medical device company focused on the treatment and management of chronic pain, peripheral neuropathies, and related neurological disorders, has appointed David Van Avermaete to its Board of Directors.

Van Avermaete has more than 30 years of experience in medical devices, including 22 years in the diabetes field, with specific expertise in consumer healthcare marketing and sales, including retail/pharmacy distribution, large scale customer service, physician recommendations and hospital-based marketing. He is a former U.S. president of the LifeScan division of Johnson & Johnson who, during his 13 year tenure, grew annual sales from under $100 million to more than $1 billion. More recently, he was the founder and CEO of VeraLight, a medical device company established in 2004 to focus on non-invasive screening for type 2 diabetes, and recently sold to Miraculins Inc. Van Avermaete also has held leadership positions in sales and marketing with several device companies including Biotope, Roche Diagnostics, and Syntex Medical Diagnostics. Van Avermaete holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Microbiology from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Science in medical technology and chemistry from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

“I believe SENSUS represents breakthrough technology in pain management that, among other things, will provide relief for the millions of people with diabetes who suffer from painful diabetic neuropathy,” said Van Avermaete. “I am excited to be joining the team at NeuroMetrix in order to help them leverage this innovation into commercial success.”

“David has a broad and deep business background, and brings a wealth of commercial experience in the diabetes sector at a time when it will be most valuable to our company,” said Shai N. Gozani M.D., Ph.D., NeuroMetrix President and CEO. “We are pleased to have him join our Board of Directors and look forward to his contributions as we grow NeuroMetrix.”

The company granted Van Avermaete an inducement stock option to purchase 10,000 shares of NeuroMetrix common stock at an exercise price per share of $1.55. The stock option has a maximum term of 10 years and vests as to 25 percent of the underlying shares on the first anniversary of the grant date and as to 6.25 percent of the underlying shares quarterly thereafter. It will be fully vested on the fourth anniversary of the grant date, subject to his service to NeuroMetrix.

Based in Waltham, Mass., NeuroMetrix develops and markets home use and point-of-care devices for the treatment and management of chronic pain, peripheral neuropathies, and associated neurological disorders. The company presently is focused on diabetic neuropathies, which affect more than 50 percent of diabetics. The annual cost of diabetic neuropathies has been estimated at $14 billion in the United States, according to NeuroMetrix.