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Dr. Beat R. Merz has served as a director of our company since December 2005. Dr. Merz has served as Chairman and President of Thommen Medical AG, a dental implant company, since December 2001. Since March 2003, Dr. Merz has also served as an investment advisor with HBM Partners AG, an investment advisory firm specializing in the global life sciences sector. From September 1999 until February 2003, Dr. Merz served as Investment Manager and later as Managing Director of NMT Management AG, a venture capital firm. Dr. Merz also served as group manager and a senior engineer with Institute Straumann AG, a producer of dental implants, from January 1994 until September 1999. Dr. Merz has co-founded several medical technology companies, and he currently serves on the board of directors of Micrus Endovascular Corporation, a medical device company, as well as the boards of directors of several private medical device companies. Dr. Merz holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, and an M.B.A. from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, U.K. | 