CLSR Closure Medical (MM)

CLOSURE Medical Elects J. Daniel Cole Chairman of the Board of Directors RALEIGH, N.C., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CLOSURE Medical Corporation (NASDAQ:CLSR), a global leader in biomaterial-based medical devices, announced today that its Board of Directors has elected J. Daniel Cole as Chairman. Mr. Cole succeeds Ronald A. Ahrens, who is retiring from the Board today upon the expiration of his term. "I am grateful for the opportunity to have been associated with CLOSURE and I believe strongly in the Company's mission, products and people," said Ahrens. "Dan Cole is a very capable leader with an accomplished record who, working with Dan Pelak and the rest of this talented Board, will help guide the Company through its next phase of its evolution." Mr. Cole has been a Director of the Company since July 2003 and has over twenty years of experience in the medical device industry. Since 1997, Mr. Cole has served as General Partner of Spray Venture Partners in Boston, a venture capital firm that focuses exclusively on the healthcare technology market. Prior to 1997, Mr. Cole had been Senior Vice President and Group President of Boston Scientific Corporation and President and Chief Operating Officer of SciMed Life Systems, Inc. From 1982 to 1993, Mr. Cole held several positions with Baxter International, including as President of the Edwards Critical Care Division. In addition, the Company announced that F. William Schmidt was retiring from the Board and has submitted his resignation, also effective today. Mr. Schmidt helped to found the Company in 1990 and has served as a Director of the Company since February 1996. Mr. Schmidt has been an investor in and devoted substantial time and attention to healthcare-related entities, including the Company. "This day marks another step forward in the progress of CLOSURE," said Mr. Schmidt. "Although I am retiring from the Board as a Director, I intend to continue to stay involved with the Company." Daniel A. Pelak, President and CEO of the Company and a Director, commented, "On behalf of the Board, shareholders, employees and customers, I would like to thank both Ron and Bill for their many contributions over the years. Ron and Bill have played pivotal roles during the early phase of our Company's development and their wisdom and guidance have been very important to our success. At the same time, we are privileged to have Dan Cole take a leadership role on our Board. Dan's understanding of the med-tech industry, along with his in-depth operating experience at Baxter International and later as Group President of Boston Scientific and President of SciMed Life Systems will be of great value as CLOSURE continues to extend its core technology to new products and applications addressing unmet medical needs." In addition to Mr. Cole and Mr. Pelak, CLOSURE's Board of Directors is currently comprised of Richard W. Miller, former Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AT&T; James E. Niedel, M.D., Ph.D., Venture Partner of the Sprout Group and former Chief Science and Technology Officer of GlaxoSmithKline plc; Rolf D. Schmidt, Co-founder of CLOSURE Medical; Stephen I. Shapiro, Technology Partner of Advanced Technology Ventures and Advisor to Galen Associates; and Randy H. Thurman, Chairman and CEO of VIASYS Healthcare, Inc. About CLOSURE Medical Corporation CLOSURE Medical Corporation is a global leader in the development and manufacture of innovative biomaterial-based medical devices that fulfill the needs of healthcare practitioners, patients and consumers. For additional information on CLOSURE Medical visit its website at http://www.closuremed.com/ or visit the "Clients" section of the Allen & Caron website at http://www.allencaron.com/. This release contains certain forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays, uncertainties or other factors not under the Company's control which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance, or other expectations implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to the early stage of commercialization of the Company's products; the progress and success of its research and development programs for future products; the success of its clinical study for its vascular sealant product and future clinical studies; the successful enrollment of current and future clinical studies; the need for regulatory approval and effects of governmental regulation; technological uncertainties; the Company's success in securing marketing partners for future products; the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations with, and dependence on marketing partners, and dependence on patents and trade secrets, as well as those detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes that the expectations in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee such results. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof. DATASOURCE: CLOSURE Medical Corporation CONTACT: Investors, Joe Allen, +1-212-691-8087, , or Media, Len Hall, +1-949-474-4300, , both of Allen & Caron Inc. for CLOSURE Medical Corporation; or Benny Ward, CFO of CLOSURE Medical Corporation, +1-919-876-7800 Web site: http://www.allencaron.com/ Web site: http://www.closuremed.com/

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