May 24 2012
Halo Healthcare, Inc. (the "Company") announces it has acquired the
assets of NeoMatrix, LLC and has restructured the Company, including
engaging a new CEO and management team, appointing a new Board of
Directors, and relaunching the HALO® diagnostic device for breast cancer
risk assessment. The Company manufactures the FDA-cleared HALO® Breast
Test console and disposables, a 5-minute, non-invasive, office-based
test that collects nipple aspirate fluid ("NAF") from breast ducts and
uses diagnostic cytopathology to identify abnormal cells in determining
a woman's risk of developing breast cancer years before a mammogram
identifies a lump.
Studies show that 8 of 9 women diagnosed with breast cancer do not have
a prior family history of the disease and thus the HALO® Breast Test is
well suited to assist in stratifying a woman's risk of developing breast
cancer. The HALO® Breast Test is FDA cleared for women from 25 to 50
years of age and especially valuable for women under 40 years of age,
not normally candidates for mammography or with dense breast tissue. To
date, over 25,000 women have had HALO breast tests in the United States,
and the Company has begun a global launch into Europe, Asia, South
America and the Middle East.
France Dixon Helfer, CEO and President, stated, "We are delighted to
become Halo Healthcare, and have a renewed commitment and passion for
this valuable diagnostic test that can help save women through early
breast cancer detection. We have a stellar board and highly experienced
management team already advancing our HALO product line and platform. We
believe our business model will result in exponential success for Halo
Healthcare." Michael Lynch, new board member, noted, "The gold standard
in preventative breast care for women is currently mammography. When the
gold standard saves only one life per 1,000 exams while allowing another
five lives to be lost, the gold standard is based on fool's gold. The
HALO test can help identify women who are at high risk for breast cancer
before they are eligible for mammograms and may be especially useful in
younger women and those with dense breasts where mammograms have
deficiencies." New board member John Osborn added, "It is critical that
we make broadly available a more effective, non-invasive way of
identifying early stage breast cancer, and HALO offers this option. I am
also encouraged by the Company's ongoing research that is focused on
developing the underlying science to identify next-generation biomarker
assays using NAF."
The new Halo Healthcare board includes chairperson Ms. Helfer, a serial
entrepreneur and seasoned senior executive with over 30 years of
experience in the medical device industry. Helfer has founded or
contributed significantly to the growth of several medical device
companies including Medtronic, where her team developed and launched the
first stentless heart valve; Sorin Biomedica as VP of Worldwide
Corporate Development, completing several significant strategic
transactions; VP International Marketing for Eclipse Medical,
responsible for launching new technology in Europe; Founder of Pegasus
Biologics (Synovis Life Systems-Baxter); and Founder of Epic Medical, a
UCLA Cardiology technology company. She has advised numerous life
science companies on strategy and business, and sits on several boards
and advisory committees. She has raised over $50 million in angel
funding and venture capital.
Mr. John E. Osborn, J.D., has held senior executive positions with
several leading biopharmaceutical and oncology-focused healthcare
companies, including Cephalon, Dendreon, US Oncology and a Merck & Co.
joint venture. He brings to the board substantial expertise in
intellectual property, regulatory compliance, licensing, acquisitions,
public policy, government affairs and communications. In addition to his
corporate experience, John served with the U.S. Department of State
during the George H.W. Bush administration, and more recently was a
member of the bipartisan U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.
He also has been a visiting fellow at Oxford and Princeton, an advisor
on pharmaceutical and medical products industry matters with McKinsey &
Company, and a corporate lawyer with Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale).
Mr. Michael P. Lynch has over 20 years of managed care expertise in
health plan economics, finance and network development, and contracting.
He is currently President, CEO and Founder of Quantum Care, LLC, a
managed care payor solutions company and third-party administrator. Mr.
Lynch spent eight years at Humana as Regional Finance Director. After
Humana, Mr. Lynch joined CarePlus Health Plans as Vice President of
Network Administration and Business Development, where he assisted in
its eventual sale to Humana for $450 million. Subsequently, as a
turn-around specialist, Mr. Lynch was instrumental in saving Vista and
Summit Health Plans more than $20 million in costs and increased their
sales value more than $140 million prior to their sale to Coventry. His
turn-around efforts resulted in the creation of nearly $1 billion in
Florida health plan sales in less than 4 years' time
Mr. Sam Irvani currently serves as Director of Private Equity at
Waveland Capital Partners and brings over 15 years' experience in
investment banking, corporate finance and strategy. Mr. Irvani has also
held senior positions at Western Digital Corporation, where he managed
financial control of the company's $3 billion distribution business as
well as supporting strategic corporate development initiatives. He has
served as Vice President at Citigroup Global markets, where he provided
M&A and corporate finance advisory services to middle market clients up
to $500 million in enterprise value.
Source: Halo Healthcare, Inc.
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