Mauna Kea Technologies redefines its commercialization strategy

Global indication-driven commercialization via a comprehensive partnering strategy
Reduction of operating expenses
Strengthening of leadership team

Paris, October 7th, 2015 – Mauna Kea Technologies (Euronext: MKEA, FR0010609263, PEA-PME eligible), inventor of Cellvizio®, the multi-disciplinary confocal laser endomicroscopy platform, discloses today its new commercialization strategy validated by its Board of Directors.

Over the past 4 years, the company has built a solid business foundation and brand recognition through multiple applications in gastroenterology and has recently obtained regulatory approvals in new therapeutic areas of major importance. Mauna Kea's unique Cellvizio platform is now protected by 170 issued patents worldwide and has generated several hundreds of scientific and medical publications.

Shift to a partnering commercialization strategy

Mauna Kea is shifting to a broader and more capital-efficient commercialization strategy and intends to leverage the broad applicability of its unique and proprietary platform with large-scale partners acting under their own brand with possible integration of the Cellvizio technology inside their own platforms. The company is currently actively developing such partnerships in interventional endoscopy, surgical oncology and interventional radiology, three market segments in which the Cellvizio technology complements and adds significant value to the existing equipment offerings.

Reduction of operating expenses

This action complements previously announced corporate initiatives to reduce operating expenses and reflects, in part, an acknowledgement that the Company's current selling model lacks the scale needed to produce consistent commercial results. Current trends of the business, including this 2015 third quarter's, are far from meeting the company's expectations and the company has already significantly reduced its marketing and sales efforts in markets where the current selling model cannot yield the appropriate return on investment.

Strengthening of leadership team

In order to fully redefine its new commercialization strategy, to implement its execution and to pilot the company's transition to a more capital-efficient organization, Mauna Kea Technologies has considerably strengthened its leadership team:

Mauna Kea has retained the services of M. Florian Kemmerich as a Chief Operating Officer. M. Kemmerich brings more than 20 years of experience in biotech and medical device startups and larger organizations. M. Kemmerich has built and repositioned several high performing organizations in the competitive global marketplace. M. Kemmerich was most recently President of Olympus Biotech International, after having served President International for Small Bone Innovations. Previously, M. Kemmerich held multiple positions including Vice-President for Sales in Latin America for Aesculap, Managing Director of B. Braun de Mexico, and Director of Marketing for Karl Storz Endoscopy USA.
Several months ago, Mauna Kea hired M. Sebastien Cadet as its Global Director of Marketing and OEM Leader. M. Cadet brings more than 15 years of experience in the fields of surgical instrumentation and OEM marketing, having held numerous important positions in one of the key OEM suppliers in this field. M. Cadet has been based in Orlando, Florida, for the past 15 years and has extensive knowledge of the industry and the markets addressed by the company.

The company will present its detailed strategic roadmap before year-end and plans to hold analyst and investors days in Paris and New York.

Next press release: Q3 2015 sales on October 15, 2015 (after close of trading)

About Mauna Kea Technologies

Mauna Kea Technologies is a global medical device company focused on protecting patients' lives while enabling physicians and surgeons to make better decisions thanks to direct visualization at the cellular level. The Company's flagship product, Cellvizio, has received clearance to sell a wide range of applications in more than 40 countries, including the United States, Europe, Japan, China, Canada, Brazil and Mexico. For more information on Mauna Kea Technologies, visit www.maunakeatech.com