SurModics Inc. announced certain organizational and leadership changes designed to support future growth by better meeting customer needs, leveraging its multiple competencies across the organization, and building on its pharmaceutical industry experience.

Effective immediately, SurModics will be organized by functional expertise rather than its previous business unit structure. The company remains committed to its key markets, cardiovascular, ophthalmology, and diagnostics, and this new organizational structure will provide a more effective platform to support SurModics’ growing business in “Therapeutic: Other Markets.” Specifically, it will allow the company to better participate in a wide and growing number of additional markets for its current and future technologies with medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies.

The new, single sales and marketing organization is designed to better meet customers’ needs for SurModics’ numerous technologies and products across all markets and customers. Charlie Olson, formerly vice president and general manager of cardiovascular, will be promoted to senior vice president, business development and marketing, responsible for licensing, sales, and marketing of all of the company’s products and technologies to its entire customer base.

Product development groups will also be combined to better leverage existing technologies for development of new solutions and products internally and to more effectively collaborate with customers to solve their technical requirements. Brian Robey, currently vice president, product development and operations, will be promoted to senior vice president, product development, responsible for all product development activities, including most of the customer supported programs, at all sites and for all technologies. In addition, John Middleton, PhD, currently vice president, SurModics pharmaceuticals in Birmingham, AL, will be promoted to vice president, drug delivery product development, and become an officer of SurModics. Middleton will report to Robey, and be responsible for all drug delivery product development activities, including all early phase clinical trial projects.

A single research organization will combine the technical capabilities of SurModics’ innovative and creative research groups to foster new and valuable approaches that result in proprietary solutions for customers. Art Tipton, PhD, currently vice president, SurModics, and president, SurModics Pharmaceuticals, will be promoted to senior vice president and chief scientific officer, responsible for all of the company’s research activities. In addition, Tipton will continue to support the company’s sales efforts to pharmaceutical companies, leveraging his deep customer relationships and extensive industry network.

In addition, two new officers will join SurModics effective March 8, and report to Barclay. These new officers, Eugene Rusch and Joseph Stich, will provide the company with pharmaceutical industry experience as well as specific expertise in two areas of anticipated significant activity and future growth: product manufacturing and corporate development.

Rusch has joined the company as vice president, manufacturing. Based in Birmingham, AL, he will be responsible for all product manufacturing, supply chain, facilities, and late stage clinical and commercial drug delivery product manufacturing. Most recently, Rusch was vice president, manufacturing at Alkermes Inc. In addition, Rusch brings more than 20 years of pharmaceutical manufacturing experience from Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. to SurModics.

Stich has joined the company as vice president, corporate development and strategy. He will be based in Eden Prairie, MN with responsibility for corporate development and strategic planning activities. Previously, Stich was vice president of corporate development for Abraxis BioScience LLC. Prior to Abraxis, he was a vice president at MGI Pharma Inc., and also held several management positions at Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

Other organizational changes include the departure of Paul Lopez, ophthalmology division president, whose responsibilities will be assumed by John Saharek, currently director, commercial development in SurModics’ ophthalmology business. Saharek will be responsible for all ophthalmology sales activities worldwide, and sales to pharmaceutical companies in the western U.S. Saharek joined SurModics in 2006 and has over twenty years experience in ophthalmology and healthcare, including six years at Bausch & Lomb. Additionally, current officers Lise Duran, PhD, vice president, research (Minnesota) and Doug Astry, general manager, in vitro technologies, will be leaving the company.

Finally, SurModics announced that it will consolidate selected facilities. This includes closing its sales office in Irvine, CA. In addition, the company will be relocating BioFX diagnostic product manufacturing, now located in Maryland, to its Eden Prairie, MN headquarters. Finally, the company will continue its work to consolidate multiple facilities in Birmingham, AL into its newly opened cGMP manufacturing and development facility.

As a result of these organizational and leadership changes, the company expects to take a one-time restructuring charge of approximately $0.9 to $1.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010. Also, in connection with these initiatives, SurModics expects to save approximately $0.5 to $1.0 million on an annualized basis.