MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- TYRX, Inc., a leader in the development and commercialization of convergent drug-device products, today announced the appointment of David Elliot, Jr. as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for commercial operations.

Mr. Elliot brings over 25 years of experience in the medical device industry. Mr. Elliot joins TYRX from Valam Corp., a privately held company focused on providing laser-based antimicrobial and vascular plaque destruction therapies, where he was President and CEO and remains a Board Director. Prior to Valam, Mr. Elliot was President, COO and Board Director of VistaCare, Inc., a publicly traded hospice care provider. Prior to VistaCare, Mr. Elliot was President, CEO and Board Director of The VASCLIP Company, a privately held medical device company that provides a less invasive surgical alternative to vasectomy. Prior to VASCLIP, Mr. Elliot was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Advanced Respiratory, Inc., a privately held company now owned by Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., that sold a proprietary FDA-approved medical device for patients with respiratory issues.

From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Elliot held two senior executive positions (Vice President, Global Marketing of Cardiac Rhythm Management and Director of Corporate Business Development) at St. Jude Medical. In 1987, Mr. Elliot began his career in healthcare executive management at Guidant Corporation, where during the following nine years he held different roles of escalating responsibility and was ultimately the director of Guidant Japan's Cardiac Rhythm Management division. Mr. Elliot earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Connecticut College and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

"We are thrilled to have David join our management team," said Bill Edelman, President and CEO. "David's experience in the Cardiac Rhythm Management space, as well as his demonstrated track record of achievement in entrepreneurial settings, provides a powerful combination of skills to support the commercialization of our AIGISRx(TM) platform and to advance our forward looking strategies to bring TYRX's unique device/drug products to the market."

"I am excited about joining the TYRX team, which has already launched its first proprietary anti-bacterial device, AIGISRx, has entered a partnership for another, and has a multi-platform pipeline of additional proprietary technologies addressing postsurgical infection and other high cost implant associated morbidities," said Mr. Elliot. "I look forward to adding my business development and marketing experience to the impressive skill set already present at TYRX."

About TYRX, Inc.

TYRX, Inc., an ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 13485:2003 certified medical device manufacturer, commercializes implantable combination drug/device products, including the AIGISRx(TM) Anti-Bacterial Envelope. AIGISRx CRMD contains the antimicrobial agents, rifampin and minocycline, which have been shown to reduce infection by organisms representing a majority of the infections reported in CRMD related endocarditis, including "superbugs" or MRSA. In addition, AIGISRx is intended to securely hold a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in order to create a stable environment when implanted in the body. Following commercial release in June, 2008, AIGISRx has been implanted in over 1,200 patients nationwide. In February, 2008 TYRX raised $25 million in a venture capital financing led by Clarus Ventures and co-led by Pappas Ventures. TYRX products utilize novel biomaterials, including technology licensed exclusively from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Additionally, TYRX has exclusively licensed from Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center product patents and associated technologies to address the problem of postsurgical nosocomial infection. TYRX is deploying its capabilities across a broad range of combination implantable medical-pharmaceutical devices. The combination products sector (products incorporating both a drug & a device component) is expected to be the highest growth segment of the medical products industry and TYRX is positioned to be an innovative applications leader in the space.

For more information, please visit www.TYRX.com.

    CONTACT
    Bill Edelman
    President and Chief Executive Officer
    TYRX, Inc.
    732.246.8676
    william@TYRX.com

SOURCE TYRX, Inc.