IsoRay Adds to Board, Fields Class Action Suit

Richland, Wash.-based IsoRay Inc., which makes medical technology involving seed brachytherapy and medical radioisotope applications, has named Michael (Mick) McCormick, former executive vice president of global sales and marketing of Columbia Sportswear, to its board of directors.

McCormick will serve on the audit and compensation committees of the board, and will chair the nominating and corporate governance committee of the board.

McCormick brings more than 25 years of senior executive positions in global management, sales, and marketing to the company. He is currently the CEO of Glukos, a food energy company. He also serves as a founder and partner of GO Intellectual Capital, an advisory firm specializing in medical, aviation, and financial services. GO Intellectual Capital recently provided consulting services to DJO Global, a medical device and services company, to expand its product assortment, add new channels of distribution, and market new category opportunities. Prior to his service with Glukos and GO, McCormick served as executive vice president of global sales and marketing for Columbia Sportswear from 2006-2012, where his team successfully launched several new patented technologies, including Omni-Heat Reflective and Omni-Freeze Zero. During McCormick’s tenure, Columbia built an intellectual property portfolio with more than 200 patents. McCormick started his career with Nike, working in several senior management roles and ultimately becoming the director of national sales, U.S., prior to his departure in 1999. He also served as chief marketing officer of Golf Galaxy from 2003-2006 and executive vice president of global sales and marketing of Callaway Golf from 2000-2003.

“Mick’s vision, strategy and leadership led to the introduction of many innovative best-selling products at Columbia Sportswear,” said Dwight Babcock, IsoRay’s chairman of the board and CEO. “We will deeply benefit from his sales and marketing expertise. It is difficult to find a director with both a strong background in well-known retail brands including Nike and Columbia Sportswear and a marketing background in the medical technology arena. We are excited that Mick has the experience and background to assist us in enhancing our communications and marketing strategies to get our products recognized as national and international brands by the healthcare community.”

Concurrently but separately from McCormick’s appointment, a class action suit has commenced against IsoRay. The class action has begun in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington on behalf of shareholders (the class) who purchased IsoRay shares between May 20, 2015 and May 21, 2015. According to the suit, the press release released by IsoRay on May 20 exaggerated positive results from a clinical trial evaluating Cesium-131 seeds in the treatment of lung cancer, which caused an artificial inflation of share prices. After a May 21 article on TheStreet.com asserted that IsoRay took liberties with clinical data from the study by using selectively edited findings to make its Cesium-131 product seem better than it really was and to prop up the company’s stock price, the stock price dropped 35 percent, leading to a significant loss to the class of shareholders.

IsoRay’s various products, including Cesium-131 seeds, sutured seeds, stranded mesh and the GliaSite radiation therapy system, are designed to give physicians the ability to directly place a specified dosage of radiation in areas where cancer is most likely to remain after completion of a tumor removal or by placing seeds within the prostate.