Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. Announces Appointment of Two New Independent Directors to its Board

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: INSP) (Inspire), a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative, minimally invasive solutions for patients with obstructive sleep apnea, today announced the appointments of Cynthia Burks and Charisse Sparks, M.D., as independent directors to its Board, effective July 28, 2022.

Cynthia Burks is the former Chief Human Resources Officer for Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group. In this role, Ms. Burks led the company’s efforts to attract, develop and retain employees at Genentech, which has over 13,500 employees. An innovative leader, she brings strong analytical skills, and expertise in all areas of human capital strategy, including talent management, culture, diversity, equity, inclusion, and organizational design. Ms. Burks is an observer on the board of directors of the publicly traded WD-40 Company and a director on the board of directors of Torch, a privately held company offering integrated coaching, mentoring and learning software, as well as serving on two non-profit organizations, Juma Ventures and Summer Search.

Charisse Y. Sparks, M.D., is the Chief Medical Officer of AppliedVR, Inc., a privately-held company pioneering virtual reality-based treatments that address the complexity of pain and other conditions, where she is responsible for leading the company’s medical, clinical, regulatory and quality affairs functions. Previously, Dr. Sparks was Vice President of DePuy Synthes, the Orthopaedics Company of Johnson and Johnson. While at DePuy Synthes, she was an integral leader in Johnson & Johnson's “Our Race to Health Equity,” an initiative which aims to eradicate racial and social injustice as a public health threat by seeking to eliminate health inequities for people of color. Dr. Sparks has experience in R&D, Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Commercial, and Health Economics & Market Access. She has led evidence-generation strategies for global market access of orthopedic and craniomaxillofacial (CMF) products. As an orthopedic surgeon, she was the third Black female, fellowship-trained Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon in the country, completing her training at Harvard Medical School.

"The Inspire team is thrilled to add these two very talented individuals to our Board," said Tim Herbert, President and Chief Executive Officer of Inspire Medical Systems. “Cynthia’s extensive experience in all critical aspects of human resources will be invaluable as our organization continues to grow. Further, Charisse’s broad medical device industry expertise further strengthens our Board as we continue to enhance the Inspire therapy platform with a focus on delivering strong and consistent patient outcomes.”

Following the appointments of Ms. Burks and Dr. Sparks, the Inspire Board consists of 11 directors, 10 of whom are independent. These new appointments reflect the Board’s comprehensive and ongoing approach to board succession planning.

About Inspire Medical Systems

Inspire is a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative, minimally invasive solutions for patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Inspire’s proprietary Inspire therapy is the first and only FDA-approved neurostimulation technology that provides a safe and effective treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea.

For additional information about Inspire, please visit . 

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘could,’’ “future,” “outlook,” “guidance,” ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘target,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘contemplate,’’ ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘predict,’’ ‘‘potential,’’ ‘‘continue,’’ or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.

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Investor & Media Contact:

Bob Yedid

LifeSci Advisors

646-597-6989