MicroCHIPS

MicroCHIPS Hires Industry Veteran Robert Farra to Lead Diabetes and Drug Delivery Product Programs

Company further strengthens glucose monitoring program with two key development hires

Bedford, MA - October 23, 2007 - MicroCHIPS, Inc., an innovative developer of biosensing and drug delivery devices, today announced Robert Farra has joined the company as Vice President of Research and Development. Mr. Farra is charged with leading the company’s drug delivery and diabetes monitoring programs through preclinical and clinical development. Bringing additional experience in glucose monitoring to MicroCHIPS are recent hires Kerstin Rebrin, MD, PhD and Yanan Zhang, PhD.

MicroCHIPS is pioneering the next generation of implantable biosensing and drug delivery devices designed to increase therapeutic control, reduce painful interventions and improve health for people with diabetes, osteoporosis and other debilitating diseases.
“Bob Farra brings valuable experience directing technical teams in developing sophisticated medical devices,” said John Santini, president and CEO, MicroCHIPS. “His leadership will help transform ground-breaking science supported by successful preclinical trials into revolutionary medical products.”

Mr. Farra joined MicroCHIPS from Abiomed, where he served as Vice President of Engineering and Manufacturing and led the development of several new products, including its implantable intra-aortic balloon and the iPulse™ control console. He successfully took both products through FDA and CE Mark approvals and oversaw manufacturing scale-up efforts in the US and Europe. Mr. Farra was also responsible for the design and manufacturing of Abiomed’s left ventricular assist device and whole heart replacement products. Prior to Abiomed, Mr. Farra held leadership positions at Accellent Endoscopy and Arthur D. Little where he managed multidisciplinary device development teams for industry-leading companies in a wide range of clinical areas. Mr. Farra earned a BSME from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and an SMME from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“I’m delighted to join MicroCHIPS at this exciting point in the company’s progress,” said Robert Farra, vice president R&D, MicroCHIPS. “I look forward to working with the outstanding team at MicroCHIPS to create devices to improve the lives of millions of patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions.”

MicroCHIPS has further strengthened its development program with the addition of two diabetes experts, Kerstin Rebrin, MD, PhD and Yanan Zhang, PhD. Dr. Rebrin brings a
wealth of diabetes experience to MicroCHIPS in her role as Senior Director of Preclinical and Clinical Research. Dr. Rebrin comes to MicroCHIPS from Abbott Diabetes Care, where she was the Director of Systems Engineering/Diabetes Therapy. Prior to her role at Abbott, she directed the Closed-loop Insulin Delivery Program for Medtronic Diabetes. Dr. Rebrin trained at the Diabetes Institute Karlsburg, Germany, and received her doctoral degree from the Medical University of Lübeck.

Yanan Zhang, PhD joins MicroCHIPS as the Director of Sensor Technology. Dr. Zhang brings a track record of successful glucose sensor development to the company, including technical leadership as a Senior Principal Engineer with Medtronic Diabetes. Dr. Zhang received his PhD in Bioanalytical Chemistry at the University of Kansas, where he studied under Professor George Wilson.

About MicroCHIPS
MicroCHIPS, Inc. is pioneering “smart” implantable devices to create sophisticated monitoring and therapy systems. Based on breakthrough micro-reservoir systems originally developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MicroCHIPS’ patented technologies have the ability to revolutionize today’s medical implants by adding unique monitoring and targeted therapeutic capabilities designed to improve patient care in chronic diseases. MicroCHIPS’ devices under development are based on advances the company has made in the fields of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), implant technologies, drug formulation and chemical sensing.