David Fitzgerald Named President and CEO of ArthroCare

ArthroCare Corp. has appointed David Fitzgerald as president and CEO. He has been serving in the position in an interim capacity since February, and has been a member of the firm’s board of directors since 2003.

Fitzgerald was a member of the compensation and audit committeesof the board of directors and will remain a member of the board, according to the Austin, Texas-based surgical instrument manufacturer.

Prior to becoming a member of ArthroCare’s board, Fitzgerald spent25 years in executive management positions at Pfizer Inc., a pharmaceutical company based in New York, N.Y., serving aspresident and CEO of its Howmedica Orthopedics divisionduring his last 15 years with the company. He also had served as seniorvice president of Pfizer’s medical device group and a vice president ofPfizer Corp. before retiring in 1996.

Fitzgerald serves on the board of advisers of Sandvik MedTech, a Swedish contract manufacturer. He served as director and board chairman of Malvern, Pa.-based implant manufacturer Orthovita Inc., from 2001 to 2009. He also was on the board of directors of LifeCell Corp., from 2001 until the company was acquired by Kinetic Concepts Inc. in 2008. LifeCell Corp., based in Branchburg, N.J., develops and sells tissue grafts and blood cell preservation products.

“I am delighted to continue leading ArthroCare. My experiences as acting president and chief executive officer over the last eight months reinforce my confidence in the company and our future prospects. Our Coblationtechnology will enable us to capitalize on opportunities in themulti-billion dollar industry in which we operate, and I am confident ArthroCare is positioned for long-term success,” Fitzgerald said.

Coblation technology is a controlled, non-heat driven process that uses radiofrequency energy to excite the electrolytes in a conductive medium, such as saline solution, creating focused plama. The result is volumetric removal of target tissue with minimal damage to surrounding tissue. Many Coblation devices also are designed to stop hemostasis and coagulate or seal bleeding vessels.