ThermoGenesis Appoints J. Melville Engle As CEO And Matthew Plavan As COO

“Mel has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of three healthcare companies, as well as having extensive management experience in operations, finance, sales and international market development with both large and small device and pharmaceutical organizations,” said Patrick McEnany, director and chairman of the company’s governance & nominating committee. “After conducting an extensive search and interviewing a number of excellent candidates, it was clear to the board that Mel’s wide-ranging healthcare industry experience made him a great fit for ThermoGenesis.

“Mel possesses a broad management and strategic skill set and a track record of success,” McEnany continued. “In addition to overseeing the successful development and market introduction of a number of products and achieving revenue growth, he has a strong operations track record with regulated companies. He has also led business development activities, such as M&A, partnerships and joint ventures, as well as capital raising initiatives.

“The Board of Directors also want to acknowledge the many contributions Matt has made during his four-year tenure at the Company—particularly over the past several months. We look forward to his continued contributions and the continuity he brings with his knowledge of the Company as he works with Mel in the development and implementation of our growth strategies.”

Engle was most recently Chief Executive Officer of Raydiance, Inc., a laser technology company. For six years, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Dey LP, a $600 million specialty pharmaceutical company, and a U.S. affiliate of Merck KGaA. Before that, he was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anika Therapeutics, Inc., a small cap, publicly traded medical device company. While at Dey, Engle also served as Regional Director, North America, for the Merck Generics Group. He was with Allergan, Inc., for 14 years, holding senior management positions that included Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of U.S. Sales and head of the company’s operations in Canada and Latin America. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Oxygen Biotherapeutics (OXBO), a publicly traded company developing pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the field of oxygen therapeutics and continuous substrate monitoring.

Engle holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Colorado and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Southern California. He has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations in the Napa area and was named Napa’s 2007 Citizen of the Year by the Napa Chamber of Commerce and the State of California.

“I am excited to be joining ThermoGenesis, particularly at a time of heightened interest in and growing awareness of the therapeutic value of stem cells. ThermoGenesis possesses a strong technology base with a dedicated and knowledgeable group of employees. It is well positioned to capitalize on the growing stem cell market. ThermoGenesis has a track record of product innovation and is on the cusp of realizing an increased market presence with its current and new offerings,” Engle said.

“I am a strong believer in the value of teamwork and look forward to working with Matt and the ThermoGenesis team in accelerating the Company’s progress on its path to profitability. I am highly optimistic about the Company’s future,” Engle added.

“I appreciate the support of our board and employees over the past several months and look forward to working with Mel on a further implementation of our turnaround strategy,” Plavan noted.