Impliant Announces the Addition of Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs to Executive Management Team

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov 19, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ —-Impliant, Inc., a developer of novel motion-sparing alternatives to traditional spinal fusion surgery, announced today that it has added Noel Rolon to its executive management team as the Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs.

Mr. Rolon brings 30 years of clinical and regulatory experience in the spinal and medical device field to Impliant, including the successful completion of several IDE/PMA studies. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Worldwide Clinical and Regulatory Affairs for Gentis, Inc., a developer of biomaterials-based nucleus augmentation products for the treatment of early-stage spinal degeneration. Prior to Gentis, Mr. Rolon served as Director of Global Clinical Affairs for Synthes Spine, in which he was responsible for the management of the ProDisc-L, ProDisc-C, and In-Space Interspinous Spacer clinical trials. Preceding his time at Synthes, Mr. Rolon held various senior regulatory and clinical positions at Johnson & Johnson in their Ethicon, Cordis, and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics divisions. During his time at Johnson & Johnson, Mr. Rolon was the recipient of several awards, including the Distinguished Analytical Chemist Award and Ortho Vice President’s Award for his work with infectious diseases.

“We are very fortunate to have Noel as part of the Impliant executive management team,” commented Todd Potokar, President & CEO of Impliant. “His vast experience in managing IDE studies will pay large dividends in the execution and completion of our TOPS clinical study and the management of other key product development initiatives moving forward.”

Mr. Rolon commented on his decision to join Impliant by stating, “Throughout my career, I’ve had the good fortune to help bring several motion-sparing spinal implants to market. However, I was attracted to the TOPS device due to its novel design and the fact that there is a growing need for the ability to provide stabilization while maintaining motion in patients that would otherwise require a posterior decompression and fusion. I am honored to help lead Impliant’s flagship TOPS clinical program and to contribute to the development of the company’s product pipeline, which will undoubtedly help thousands of people worldwide.”