Cohera Medical Appoints Board Member

Cohera Medical Inc.,  a developer of absorbable surgical adhesives and sealants, has appointed Paul Thomas as a member of its Board of Directors.
 
“We are honored to welcome Paul Thomas to our Board of Directors at Cohera Medical. Paul brings a depth and breadth of experience from the emerging medical device space that will prove invaluable as Cohera enters the next stage of growth,” said Patrick Daly, president and CEO of Cohera Medical. “As we execute our U.S. commercial launch of TissuGlu Surgical Adhesive, and initiate U.S. clinical trials for our key pipeline product, Sylys Surgical Sealant, the company will benefit greatly from his experience and guidance.”
 
Thomas currently serves as CEO and founder of Roka Bioscience, a company focused on the development and commercialization of molecular assays for biopharmaceutical processing, food safety and other industrial testing applications.  He previously served as chairman, CEO, and president of LifeCell Corporation, a publicly traded regenerative medicine company, from 1998 until it was acquired by KCI in 2008.
 
Prior to joining LifeCell, Thomas held various senior positions during his tenure of 15 years with Ohmeda, a world leader in inhalation anesthetics and acute care pharmaceuticals. Currently, Thomas serves as a Director of AbioMed Inc., Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc., and RTI Surgical.

Thomas received his M.B.A. degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and completed his postgraduate studies in chemistry at the University of Georgia Graduate School of Arts and Science. He received his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from St. Michael’s College in Vermont.

“Paul is an industry leader with extensive strategic and operational expertise that will support Cohera Medical as it continues to bring new products to the market,” said Ali Satvat, member of KKR and board chairman.  “We are thrilled to have Paul join our team.”
 
Cohera Medical is a growing medical device company that is developing and commercializing a line of surgical adhesives and sealants. Cohera Medical’s products are based on a unique chemical design that is resorbable, non-toxic, and easy-to-use. The company’s lead product, TissuGlu Surgical Adhesive, is indicated for use in the United States for the approximation of tissue planes in abdominoplasty procedures. TissuGlu is currently approved for sale in the European Union for the approximation of tissue layers where subcutaneous dead space exists between the tissue planes in large flap surgical procedures such as abdominoplasty and is being used in Europe to eliminate drains or reduce complications in patients undergoing large flap surgical procedures such as abdominoplasty, mastectomy, ventral hernia repair, decubitus and latissimus dorsi flap procedures. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company’s second product under development, Sylys Surgical Sealant, the first synthetic sealant designed specifically to help reduce anastomotic leaks, has received CE Mark approval in Europe as an adjunct to standard closure in ileostomy reversal procedures. TissuGlu and Sylys are the first products in a pipeline of technology that includes adhesives for surgical mesh fixation, meniscal repair and other orthopedic indications. Sylys and the other Cohera Medical products are currently available for investigational use only and have not yet been approved for sale by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.