Biopool International/Xtrana Announces New Management Appointments
VENTURA, Calif., Sep 6, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Biopool International,
Inc./Xtrana (OTCBB:BIPL) today announced new management appointments
resulting
from the Company's recent merger with Xtrana, Inc., a company formed in
1998
based on proprietary technologies that offer new approaches to nucleic acid
(DNA/RNA) testing.
Timothy J. Dahltorp has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of
Biopool/Xtrana
to become effective September 18, 2000. The Company further announced the
appointment of Patrick J. O'Leary, Ph.D., to the position of V.P./General
Manager, effective August 21, 2000.
Dahltorp will be responsible for the overall financial management of the
new
combined company and will oversee all financial strategy and operations.
Dahltorp comes to Biopool with proven skills in operational restructuring,
mergers and acquisitions, SEC reporting, shareholder relations,
international
operations, human resources, and information services.
Most recently, Dahltorp was Chief Financial Officer of The Broe Companies,
Inc.,
a collection of privately held companies operating in a number of different
industries, including medical device manufacturing and distribution, based
in
Denver, Colorado.
Prior to his tenure at The Broe Companies, Inc., he held positions of
increasing
responsibility at Alliance Entertainment Corp. in New York City, New York,
culminating with the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer & Treasurer. Alliance Entertainment Corp. was a publicly traded,
$750
million distributor of pre-recorded music and related products with
operations
in the U.S., England, Germany, Canada, and Brazil.
Dahltorp also held positions ranging from Business Analyst to Vice
President of
Business Development at the First National Bank of Chicago and was also
formerly
Vice President of Business Development at American National Bank & Trust
Company. Dahltorp received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance at Drake
University in Des Moines, Iowa, and a Masters of Business Administration at
DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
O'Leary is responsible for directing the overall operations of the Biopool
International facility in Ventura, California, and the Biopool AB facility
located in Umea, Sweden. O'Leary brings 20 years of senior level management
experience in the medical device industry to Biopool/Xtrana.
Prior to joining the Company, O'Leary was Chief Executive Officer of
Parallax
Medical in Mountain View, California, a market leader in vertebroplasty, a
new
procedure for pain reduction and stabilization of compressed or collapsed
vertebra.
Prior to Parallax, he was stationed in Ireland and was responsible for
managing
multi-site international manufacturing, sales, and marketing organizations
for
Inamed Corporation, a global surgical and medical device company. O'Leary
received a Ph.D. in Immunology/Microbiology from Oregon State University in
Corvallis, Oregon, and has since undertaken M.B.A. studies at Loyola
College in
Baltimore, Maryland.
John H. Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer of Biopool International/Xtrana,
commented, "I am very pleased to welcome these highly skilled and
results-oriented individuals to the new management team of Biopool/Xtrana.
Their
experience and expertise will prove critical to the new combined company's
future success, and both gentlemen are very eager to put their skills to
work in
achieving the company's post-merger goals."
Wheeler added, "Timothy Dahltorp is a hands-on financial professional who
is
expected to make an immediate contribution in enhancing the Company's
financial
operations and driving our focus on building shareholder value. As for Dr.
O'Leary, his global perspective and current in-depth knowledge of the
issues
confronting the medical device industry well qualify him to guide and
continue
to grow the Company's core hemostasis business as well as be a major team
player
in the development, manufacture, and marketing of new products based on
Xtrana's
technologies."
As previously announced, effective with the closing of the merger of the
Company
with Xtrana, Inc., on August 10, 2000, Wheeler, former Chief Executive
Officer
of Xtrana, became Chief Executive Officer of the new combined company.
Departing
Chief Executive Officer of Biopool International, Michael D. Bick, Ph.D.,
will
remain an advisor to the Company and Chairman of the Board.
To further bolster the Company's new management team, the Company also
recently
announced the appointments of Dr. Shannon E. Beard as Vice President of
Technology Development and Peter M. Miller as Director of Business
Development.
"With this strengthened management team, we are now poised to build on the
Company's established success in the hemostasis market and achieve
significant
growth in exciting new markets. I look forward to working with the entire
Biopool/Xtrana team as we pursue implementation of our long-range plans for
growth and shareholder value," concluded Wheeler.
Xtrana's proprietary technology combines the three steps of nucleic acid
testing
-- extraction, amplification, and detection -- into a single,
self-contained
unit known as the SCIP(TM) (Self-Contained Integrated Particle) device.
Xtrana
discovered a novel nucleic acid binding matrix, Xtra Bind(TM), which serves
as
the extraction component of SCIP(TM), and has several stand-alone product
opportunities.
The Xtra Bind(TM) matrix is incorporated into two commercially available
nucleic
acid extraction products, the Xtra Amp(TM) Extraction Kit for Whole Blood
and an
analogous kit for use with E. coli. The Xtra Amp(TM) extraction system is
unique
in that it does not require the use of vacuum filtration or centrifugation
equipment. This greatly increases sample through-put, decreases cost, and
decreases the risk of sample contamination.
Several additional versions of the Xtra Amp(TM) system are in development
for
extraction of other types of nucleic acid (e.g., mRNA, viral DNA/RNA) and
from
additional sample sources. To date, two SCIP(TM) prototype devices have
been
developed and complete nucleic acid test systems in these devices are
underway
for Yersinia pestis, coliforms, Cryptosporidium, Listeria, Salmonella, E.
coli
O157:H7, and Chlamydia.
In addition, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, a
proprietary
gene expression system is being developed for detecting critical changes in
gene
expression patterns in minute populations of tumor cells.
Founded in 1987, Biopool International develops, manufactures, and markets
a
full range of test kits to assess and diagnose disorders of blood
coagulation,
thrombotic risk factors, fibrinolysis, platelet function, and the vascular
system, as well as specialty toxicology controls used to monitor and
measure the
presence of drugs of abuse. Effective with the Company's merger with
Xtrana, the
Company also develops nucleic acid-based tests for use in drug discovery,
detection of environmental and food contaminants, forensics and identity
testing, human and animal diseases, genetic predisposition to disease, and
other
applications. To learn more about Biopool International and Xtrana, visit
their
websites at www.biopool.com and www.xtrana.com.
NOTE: This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are
based
upon current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties
including, but not limited to, technological innovations of competitors,
changes
in health care regulations, litigation claims, foreign currency
fluctuation,
product acceptance or changes in government regulation of the Company's
products, as well as other factors discussed in the Company's last Report
on
Form 10-K-SB under "Risk Factors."
CONTACT: Biopool International
John H. Wheeler, 303/474-2132
Carol Hill, 805/654-0643 |
