Rita Medical Systems Names Jelle W. Kylstra, MD, MBA Vice President & Medical Director
Dr. Kylstra to Lead Company's Medical Affairs Efforts Focused on Development and Acceptance of Radiofrequency Ablation As A Treatment for Cancer
CONTACT: Allen & Caron Inc. (investors) Jill Bertotti, 949-474-4300 jill@allencaron.com or SurfMedia Communications (media) Juliana Minsky, 805-962-3700 jm@surfmedia.com or RITA Medical Systems, Inc. Don Stewart, 650-314-3400 dstewart@ritamed.com or Stephen Pedroff, 650-314-3400 spedroff@ritamed.comRITA Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RITA), a world leader in medical oncology devices, today announced the appointment of Jelle W. Kylstra, MD, MBA, to the position of Vice President & Medical Director. The position is newly created at the company and will expand the company's outreach through medical education, clinical publications and presentations worldwide.
"The Medical Director position will be focused on driving clinical adoption of radiofrequency ablation in our current indicated procedures, and assisting the company's initiatives in emerging procedures," stated Joseph DeVivo, President and CEO of RITA Medical Systems. "With strong experience in the fields of oncology, medical devices, immunotherapy in solid tumors, directing clinical trials, and a strong business and teaching background, Dr. Kylstra provides the leadership to expand physician awareness of patient benefits of the company's technology," he continued.
Dr. Kylstra has more than 14 years of experience in both pharmacology and medical devices across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, bone diseases, endocrinology, and pulmonary infectious diseases. He has successfully guided products through the approval, clearance and registration processes with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products. Dr. Kylstra most recently held the position of Vice President, Clinical Development for Light Sciences Corporation where he directed development of second-generation photodynamic therapy for applications in oncology.
Dr. Kylstra's prior experience includes tenures as Senior Medical Director, Tumor Vaccine Products at Dendreon Corporation, Senior Director, Medical Affairs at PathoGenensis Corporation, and Medical Director at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals where he designed and directed phase 2, 3 and 4 clinical trials for prostate and breast cancer drug therapies. Dr. Kylstra received his MBA from Northwestern University, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Evanston, Illinois, and his Medical Doctor and Master of Medicine degrees from the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dr. Kylstra is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
"I am very excited to join the RITA team. I believe that the company's technology can be more widely applied in the oncology field, and I look forward to reaching out to clinicians, professional societies, and other oncology groups to raise awareness of RFA as a treatment for cancer. I also hope to contribute to the development of expanded and new therapeutic applications of RFA," Dr. Kylstra commented on his appointment.
About RITA Medical Systems, Inc.
RITA Medical Systems develops manufactures and markets innovative products for cancer patients including radiofrequency ablation (RFA) systems for treating cancerous tumors as well as percutaneous vascular and spinal access systems. The Company's oncology product lines include implantable ports, some of which feature its proprietary Vortex(R) technology; tunneled central venous catheters; safety infusion sets and peripherally inserted central catheters used primarily in cancer treatment protocols. The proprietary RITA system uses radiofrequency energy to heat tissue to a high enough temperature to ablate it or cause cell death. In March 2000, RITA became the first RFA Company to receive specific FDA clearance for unresectable liver lesions in addition to its previous general FDA clearance for the ablation of soft tissue. In October 2002, RITA again became the first company to receive specific FDA clearance, this time, for the palliation of pain associated with metastatic lesions involving bone.
The statements in this news release related to the Company's plans (i) to extend its technology to applications beyond the liver, and (ii) extend physician awareness of the Company's technology are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Information regarding these risks is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: RITA Medical Systems, Inc.