Contacts: Marc R. Viscogliosi, President
(212) 583-0250 ext. 103 mviscogliosi@mcrallc.com

MUSCULOSKELETAL CLINICAL REGULATORY ADVISERS, LLC (MCRA) NAMES TERESA M. SCHROEDER AS DIRECTOR, SPINE CLINICAL AFFAIRS

New York, NY: November 29, 2006:  Musculoskeletal Clinical Regulatory Advisers, LLC (MCRA) announced that Teresa M. Schroeder has joined the firm as Director, Spine Clinical Affairs. MCRA is an independently-operated consulting firm focused exclusively on serving the worldwide orthopedics industry.

Ms. Schroeder is an expert in spinal degeneration and deformities, and acted as a contractor to several large medical device companies and hospital organizations. Her accomplishments include: development of a digital measurement software tool to aid diagnosis of scoliosis and kyphosis; protocol development and management of a large international outcomes study of kyphosis; and compiling two radiographic measurement manuals on adult and adolescent scoliosis and spinal trauma. Additionally, Ms. Schroeder has successfully used telemedicine in the electronic diagnosis of lumbar degeneration and spinal deformities.

Ms. Schroeder brings to MCRA more than six years of experience in spine research, including all aspects of clinical trials, particularly Class III medical device U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational Device Exemptions (IDE), prospective outcomes trials, international outcomes and retrospective studies. Ms. Schroeder is a widely-published author whose work has been peer-reviewed and presented to the international orthopedics community. For five years, Ms. Schroeder worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, where she was Program Manager, Spine Research in the Department of Orthopedics.

Marc R. Viscogliosi, President of MCRA, said, “Teresa Schroeder’s appointment is the latest example of our ability to attract and recruit expert strategists with superb credentials in helping device manufacturers and surgeons advance the state-of-the-art in diagnostics.”

Glenn Stiegman, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs of MCRA, said, “Since the decision to extend our services package to a broader cross-section of the orthopedics industry, it is gratifying to realize that demand runs deep and our single-source service package is attracting such high quality talent.”

About MCRA, LLC
Musculoskeletal Clinical Regulatory Advisers, LLC (MCRA) is a highly specialized, independently operated consulting firm serving the worldwide orthopedic industry. MCRA is a group of leading strategists committed to executing regulatory, clinical, intellectual property, and reimbursement strategies to move your company to successful value creation. Founded in 2003 by Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC, the firm provides "first-in-class" service to its clients through its superior knowledge base, global surgeon relationships and deeply experienced management team. MCRA places particular emphasis on working with companies at all stages of development, whether they are single-product companies or companies with multiple technologies. The true value of MCRA is the ability to cover the entire lifecycle of a product or technology by taking a product from the conceptual pre-clinical stage to market approval.
 
About Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC
Established by Marc R. Viscogliosi, John J. Viscogliosi and Anthony G. Viscogliosi in New York City in 1999, VB was the first venture capital/private equity and merchant banking firm dedicated to the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector of the health care industry. Today, VB is a leading independent firm with a mission to create, build and finance companies founded on innovations developed by surgeons and uniquely focused on "life-changing" musculoskeletal/orthopedic technologies. VB has worldwide surgeon, industry and trade relationships and significant financial expertise in the musculoskeletal/-orthopedic sector.

As principals of VB, the Viscogliosi brothers have a combined total of more than 35 years experience analyzing and investing in the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector. They have pioneered innovative financial, strategic and management initiatives for companies in the sector, from start-up, seed and development stage all the way to exit, while helping thousands of people lead better lives through the orthopedic and spinal products marketed and sold by the companies they have assisted in developing and financing.