RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (Sept. 24, 2008) TransEnterix, an early-stage, privately-held medical device company focused on advanced minimally invasive surgery, announced today that the Board of Directors has named Todd M. Pope the company’s first President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Pope has spent nearly 20 years in the medical device market with experience in cardiovascular, peripheral vascular, neurovascular and laparoscopic surgery.

Mr. Pope, 43, most recently served as worldwide president of Cordis, a multi-billion-dollar franchise within Johnson & Johnson’s medical-device sector.

“TransEnterix has made rapid and substantial progress since securing its first institutional financing last December,” said Fred McCoy, chairman of the board. “As TransEnterix prepares to enter the extensive minimally-invasive surgery market, which is expected to be an $8-billion global market in 2008, it is essential to have seasoned and successful CEO leadership. Todd Pope is just such a leader.”

Mr. Pope spent 10 years in various leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson and Boston Scientific before joining TransEnterix.

“It has been my good fortune to have participated in two of the most significant growth revolutions in medical devices with laparoscopic surgery in the 1990s and drug-eluting stents in the early 2000s,” Mr. Pope said. “We believe our company is poised to experience tremendous growth for years to come and I am excited to have the opportunity to lead TransEnterix from its earliest stages.”