MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skyline Medical Inc (NASDAQ:SKLN) (“Skyline” or the “Company”), today announced that it has
opened new European headquarters in Belgium and appointed Jean-Paul Rasschaert as Vice President of International Sales to drive
international sales for the STREAMWAY System. Based in Brussels, Mr. Rasschaert will be responsible for overseeing sales of the
Company’s FDA-approved STREAMWAY® System for automated, direct-to-drain medical fluid disposal to hospitals and medical centers
across Europe.
In 2017, the Company initiated an aggressive U.S. sales and marketing campaign for the STREAMWAY system, which resulted in a
meaningful ramp in domestic sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 and early 2018. The Company also made initial investments in its
international sales and marketing strategy by signing independent distribution agreements in Australia, Canada and Switzerland, as
announced in November 2017. The opening of a European Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium marks the latest milestone in the Company’s
expanded sales and marketing strategy.
Mr. Rasschaert is a senior executive with extensive sales and marketing expertise in both the U.S. and international medical
device markets. He joins Skyline Medical from Mitral Technologies, a medical device company, where he served as President, CEO and
Co-founder. He has also served in senior leadership positions at Cormove, MitralFlex, Epitek, CardialCare, Timm Medical
Technologies, and InStent and has held several board positions at medical technology start-ups. He started his career as a product
manager in the pacemaker business at Medtronic’s European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
“We consider Europe to be a major potential market for STREAMWAY System sales,” Dr. Carl Schwartz, CEO of Skyline Medical,
commented. “The EU has stated the importance of the proper management of hazardous or infectious health-care waste in order to
minimize any risk to both the environment and healthcare staff. Our solution is therefore perfectly suited to the European market
and I am pleased to welcome Jean-Paul to Skyline so he can drive sales in the region. He has a consistent track record of achieving
strong sales growth at both large medical device companies and at several start-ups, where he helped to educate the market about
new products and demonstrated an entrepreneurial mindset. I am confident his proven leadership and sales expertise will be an asset
to the Company. Jean-Paul was instrumental in securing our agreement with an independent distributor based in Switzerland which we
announced in November 2017, and I am pleased to have him join us as Vice President of International Sales.”
Mr. Jean-Paul Rasschaert, Vice President of International Sales at Skyline Medical, commented, “I am excited to join Skyline
Medical at a time when it is starting to see increased sales momentum for its STREAMWAY System. The STREAMWAY System offers
unrivalled benefits to hospitals that are looking to responsibly manage their medical waste while reducing costs and provides a
much-needed solution to Europe’s problem of medical waste management. I hope my decades of experience in medical device sales and
strong industry networks will help support sales growth at the Company.”
As part of Mr. Rasschaert's compensation package he will receive inducement stock options in accordance with NASDAQ listing
rules for 50,000 shares of Skyline common stock at $0.97 per share. The options will vest quarterly in four equal installments over
a 12-month period and have a term of 10 years.
About the STREAMWAY System
Skyline's revolutionary, FDA-cleared STREAMWAY System is the first true direct-to-drain fluid disposal system designed
specifically for medical applications, such as radiology, endoscopy, urology and cystoscopy procedures. It connects directly to a
facility's plumbing system to automate the collection, measurement and disposal of waste fluids.
The STREAMWAY minimizes human intervention for better safety and improves compliance with Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) and other regulatory agency safety guidelines. It also provides unlimited capacity for increased efficiency
in the operating room, which leads to greater profitability. Furthermore, the STREAMWAY eliminates canisters to reduce overhead
costs and provides greater environmental stewardship by helping to eliminate the approximately 50 million potentially
disease-infected canisters that go into landfills annually in the U.S. For a demonstration please visit
www.skylinemedical.com or call 855-785-8855.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, Skyline Medical announced its intention to enter the precision medicine space through a strategic
partnership with Helomics Corporation. As of February 1, 2018, the Company’s corporate name will be changed to Precision
Therapeutics.
About Skyline Medical
Skyline Medical produces a fully automated, patented, FDA-cleared waste fluid disposal system that virtually eliminates staff
exposure to blood, irrigation fluid and other potentially infectious fluids found in the healthcare environment. Antiquated manual
fluid handling methods that require hand carrying and emptying filled fluid canisters present an exposure risk and potential
liability. Skyline Medical's STREAMWAY System fully automates the collection, measurement and disposal of waste fluids and is
designed to: 1) reduce overhead costs to hospitals and surgical centers; 2) improve compliance with OSHA and other regulatory
agency safety guidelines; 3) improve efficiency in the operating room, and radiology and endoscopy departments, thereby leading to
greater profitability; and 4) provide greater environmental stewardship by helping to eliminate the approximately 50 million
potentially disease-infected canisters that go into landfills each year in the U.S. For additional information, please visit
www.skylinemedical.com.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain of the matters discussed in this announcement contain forward-looking statements that involve material risks to and
uncertainties in the Company's business that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements
made herein. Such risks and uncertainties include risks related to the proposed joint ventures, including the need to negotiate the
definitive agreements for the joint ventures; possible failure to realize anticipated benefits of the joint ventures; and costs of
providing funding to the joint ventures. Other risks and uncertainties relating to the Company include, among other things, current
negative operating cash flows and a need for additional funding to finance our operating plan; the terms of any further financing,
which may be highly dilutive and may include onerous terms; unexpected costs and operating deficits, and lower than expected sales
and revenues; uncertain willingness and ability of customers to adopt new technologies and other factors that may affect further
market acceptance, if our product is not accepted by our potential customers, it is unlikely that we will ever become profitable;
adverse economic conditions; adverse results of any legal proceedings; the volatility of our operating results and financial
condition; inability to attract or retain qualified senior management personnel, including sales and marketing personnel; our
ability to establish and maintain the proprietary nature of our technology through the patent process, as well as our ability to
possibly license from others patents and patent applications necessary to develop products; the Company's ability to implement its
long range business plan for various applications of its technology; the Company's ability to enter into agreements with any
necessary marketing and/or distribution partners and with any strategic or joint venture partners; the impact of competition, the
obtaining and maintenance of any necessary regulatory clearances applicable to applications of the Company's technology; and
management of growth and other risks and uncertainties that may be detailed from time to time in the Company's reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities and does not purport to
be an analysis of the Company's financial position. See the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and subsequent
reports and other filings at www.sec.gov.
Contacts:
Skyline Medical
Carl Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer
(651) 389-4800
cschwartz@skylinemedical.com
Investors
KCSA Strategic Communications
Elizabeth Barker
(212) 896-1203
ebarker@kcsa.com