BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Nov. 30, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valeritas Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:VLRX) announced today the election of Joe Mandato, Ph.D., to the Company’s Board of Directors, effective December 1, 2016. In conjunction with the appointment of Dr. Mandato, Nate Hukill, who represents CRG, will step down from the Board of Directors as of December 1, resulting in a Board with five independent directors on a Board comprising seven members. Dr. Mandato has extensive experience in the medical device industry as an executive, investor, educator and board member and has led numerous companies to commercial success. He is currently a managing director at DeNovo Ventures where he led investments in 10 medical device companies. Prior to joining DeNovo Ventures, Dr. Mandato had extensive operational experience as the chairman or chief executive officer of numerous medical device companies, including, but not limited to Ioptex, Confer Software, Gynecare, and Origin Medsystems. The latter two were owned by Guidant Corporation. While at Guidant Corporation, he served as a member of its founding management committee following its spin-off from Eli Lilly & Company. He has served on the board of directors of numerous companies, including but not limited to Hansen Medical, Align, Facet Solutions, and AxoGen, Inc.

Dr. Mandato received a Ph.D. in management from Case Western Reserve University, and now serves on its Board of Trustees. Dr. Mandato also holds the Carlo Rossi Chair in Entrepreneurship and Management at the University of San Francisco, is a Lecturer at Stanford University and is currently a Fellow in the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative.

“Our current focus at Valeritas is to execute on our capital-efficient commercial strategy and to continue to grow V-Go^® sales in the U.S.,” said John Timberlake, President and Chief Executive Officer of Valeritas. “Joe’s depth of experience in building successful medical device companies that emerge to become market leaders and his extensive participation on company boards will be invaluable as we move forward and accomplish our commercial and business objectives.”

Dr. Mandato commented, “With a revolutionary, efficacious and cost-efficient product, capital-efficient commercial strategy and experienced management team, Valeritas is poised to rapidly gain market share as it drives adoption of V-Go. I look forward to working with the management team and other members of the Board of Directors to continue V-Go’s successful early commercial growth trajectory.”

About Valeritas Holdings, Inc.

Valeritas is a commercial-stage medical technology company focused on developing innovative technologies to improve the health and quality of life of people with Type 2 diabetes. Valeritas’ flagship product, V-Go^® Disposable Insulin Delivery device, is a simple, wearable, basal-bolus insulin delivery solution for patients with Type 2 diabetes that enables patients to administer a continuous preset basal rate of insulin over 24 hours. It also provides on-demand bolus dosing at mealtimes. It is the only basal-bolus insulin delivery device on the market today specifically designed keeping in mind the needs of type 2 diabetes patients. Headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Valeritas operates its R&D functions in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.valeritas.com.