ESA Names James P. Whelan Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Clinical Diagnostic Products

CHELMSFORD, Mass., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- ESA Biosciences, a Magellan Biosciences company and leader in dedicated systems to screen children for lead poisoning, announced that James P. Whelan has joined the company as vice president of sales and marketing for ESA's clinical-diagnostics business. Mr. Whelan comes to ESA from Laboratory Corporation of America, where he was most recently vice president of managed care for LabCorp's esoteric business. Previously, he was vice president of marketing and business development for the company, responsible for marketing LabCorp's $3 billion diagnostics business to physicians, hospitals, and managed care.

"ESA's clinical-diagnostics business has grown significantly since we introduced the CLIA-waived LeadCare(R) II system in the fall of 2006," said Magellan's President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Robert J. Rosenthal. "We are delighted to have Jim Whelan on board as we expand the reach of our existing products into new markets, extend our point-of-care platform to other analytes, and add to our portfolio of diagnostic products. Our focus remains providing clinicians with the fast and reliable results they need to make good treatment decisions and improve health outcomes for their patients. I am confident that with Jim's proven skills, leadership capabilities, and extensive experience with physicians, managed care plans, and distribution management, we will continue our ascent to a leadership position as a world-class diagnostics company."

"This is indeed an exciting time in ESA's corporate history," said Mr. Whelan. "Blood-lead-testing volumes are on the rise as reports of lead-tainted products and lead in the environment have encouraged physicians, parents, politicians, and other community stakeholders to focus on the serious health effects of lead exposure. Where it has been adopted as a screening device to identify children with elevated blood-lead levels, clinicians tell us that LeadCare II is an unqualified success: more at-risk children are being screened, clinicians are able to provide immediate treatment when necessary, parental education is more effective, and compliance rates for follow-up appointments rise. However, barriers to widespread implementation of the point-of-care system still exist in many states. I look forward to working across the spectrum of stakeholders to help ensure that all at-risk children have access to point-of-care screening, and that pediatricians and community health clinics have access to reimbursement."

Prior to his tenure at LabCorp, Mr. Whelan worked for 20 years at Fisher Scientific International in various capacities to significantly improve the company's distribution management and sales-channel development. Most recently, he was senior vice president for business development, e-commerce, and was an active member of the core executive operating team that was responsible for company structure, brand architecture, marketing, and operating plan development. Mr. Whelan has a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.

About CLIA-waived LeadCare II

The LeadCare II system makes lead testing easy, delivering quantitative blood-lead results with only two drops of blood in just three minutes. Far simpler to administer than traditional blood-lead tests, the device can be used with capillary or venous sample, can be combined with other routine waived blood tests, and saves administrative time spent on paper work, tracking, and follow-up. Most important, it improves health outcomes -- children with elevated blood-lead levels can receive immediate intervention, rather than waiting days or weeks for results. In the US, LeadCare tests are typically reimbursable (CPT code 83655) and cost-effective -- allowing health systems to focus resources on those truly at risk. Parents concerned that their children may have been exposed to lead should ask their pediatrician for this simple test. The system is also being used successfully in industrial-hygiene programs, to test adults who might be exposed to lead as part of their work.

For more information, call 1 (800) 305-0197, or e-mail LeadCareinfo@esainc.com. For links to important toy-recall information, lead-poisoning resources, and articles, visit http://www.waivedleadcare.com/.

About ESA (http://www.esainc.com/)

ESA Biosciences, Inc. enables answers to pressing applications challenges by applying its expertise in specialty detection and electrochemistry, combined with components, kits, and reagents, for analytical laboratories, commercial diagnostics laboratories, and the clinical point-of-care setting. ESA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Magellan Biosciences, Inc.

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CONTACT: Caroline Grossman of Magellan Biosciences, +1-781-771-5579, cgrossman@magellanbio.com