CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 5, 2008 -- Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (NasdaqGM:ATEC - News), a leading medical device company focused on the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of products for the surgical treatment of spine disorders, announced today that Rohit M. Desai and Dirk Kuyper, Alphatec's current President and CEO, were elected to Alphatec's board of directors. The appointments increase Alphatec's board of directors in size from seven directors to nine, and increases the number of independent directors from four to five.
"I am very pleased that Rohit and Dirk have agreed to join Alphatec's board of directors. Both men have a great deal of executive leadership experience focused on building shareholder value and we look forward to their contributions as members of Alphatec's board of directors," said Mortimer Berkowitz III, Alphatec's Chairman of the board of directors. "Rohit and Dirk share our vision of building Alphatec into a market-leading medical device company by focusing the Company on creating solutions intended to serve the specific needs of the aging population, as well as the broader spinal disorder marketplace."
Mr. Desai is the founder of and, since its formation in 1984, has been Chairman and President of Desai Capital Management Incorporated, a specialized equity investment management firm in New York, NY that manages the assets of various institutional clients through Equity-Linked Investors-II, Private Equity Investors III, L.P. and Private Equity Investors IV, L.P. Mr. Desai is also the managing general partner of the general partner of Equity-Linked Investors-II and the managing member of the general partners of Private Equity Investors III, L.P. and Private Equity Investors IV, L.P. Prior to forming Desai Capital Management in 1984, Mr. Desai spent 20 years with Morgan Guaranty Trust, an affiliate of J.P. Morgan, where he managed an equity linked investment fund. Mr. Desai is also a director of Independence Community Bank Corp., Finlay Enterprises, Inc., Sitel Corporation, and Suncom Wireless Holdings, Inc. Mr. Desai earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Bombay, a Master of Science from the University of North Carolina and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Kuyper has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Alphatec Holdings, Inc. since June 2007. Prior to joining Alphatec, Mr. Kuyper served as the President of Aesculap, Inc. and Aesculap Implant Systems, Inc., both of which are divisions of B. Braun AG of Germany, which is one of the world's largest manufacturers of surgical instrumentation and implants. Mr. Kuyper served on active duty for four years in the U.S. Army where he achieved the rank of Captain. Mr. Kuyper holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Miami.
About Alphatec
Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (NasdaqGM:ATEC - News) designs, develops, manufactures and markets products for the surgical treatment of spine disorders. Alphatec's broad product portfolio and pipeline includes a variety of spinal implant products and systems focused on solutions addressing the cervical, thoracolumbar, intervertebral, minimally invasive, motion preservation, vertebral compression fractures and allograft markets. Alphatec's "surgeons' culture" emphasizes collaboration with spinal surgeons to conceptualize, design and co-develop a broad range of products. State-of-the-art in-house manufacturing capabilities provide a unique competitive advantage, enabling Alphatec to rapidly deliver customized solutions to meet surgeons' and patients' critical needs. Alphatec has 22 issued U.S. patents, six issued foreign patents and 31 pending patent applications, including 10 pending U.S. applications, six pending international applications and 15 pending foreign national applications. Alphatec's principal product offerings are primarily focused on the global spine fusion market, which is estimated by Alphatec to be more than $5.9 billion in 2007. In addition to its U.S. operations, Alphatec also markets a range of spine and orthopedic products in Asia through its subsidiary, Alphatec Pacific, Inc. For more information, please visit http://www.alphatecspine.com.
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Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainty. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: Alphatec's expected revenues in 2008, Alphatec's ability to accelerate new product momentum, bring to market differentiated products and commercialize its product pipeline. Alphatec cautions investors that there can be no assurance that actual results or business conditions will not differ materially from those projected or suggested in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the following: Alphatec's ability to maintain its level of previously reported sales growth, Alphatec's ability to successfully control its costs, Alphatec's ability to successfully leverage upon the experience of its Scientific Advisory Board, Alphatec's ability to develop and expand its spine fusion business in the United States, Asia and Europe, Alphatec's ability to enter the high-growth areas of spine disorders, including the market for disorders that are prevalent in aging patients, Alphatec's ability to meet fiscal year 2008 revenue guidance in either the United States, Asia or Europe, Alphatec's ability to expand and maintain a successful sales and marketing organization, continuation of favorable third party payor reimbursement for procedures performed using Alphatec's products, unanticipated expenses or liabilities or other adverse events affecting cash flow or Alphatec's ability to successfully control its costs or achieve profitability, uncertainty of additional funding, uncertainty of success in developing new products or products currently in Alphatec's pipeline, including those products that are intended to treat disorders prevalent in aging patients uncertainty of success in bringing to market differentiated products that meet the evolving needs of the contemporary spine surgeon, demanding patients, and cost conscience healthcare providers, failure to successfully introduce, develop and commercialize new products, failure to achieve acceptance of Alphatec's products by the surgeon community, failure to obtain FDA clearance or approval for new products, Alphatec's ability to compete with other competing products and with emerging new technologies within and outside of spinal fusion, product liability exposure, patent infringement claims and claims related to Alphatec's intellectual property. Please refer to the risks detailed from time to time in Alphatec's SEC reports, including quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on Form 10-K. Alphatec disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, unless required by law.
