LAKE ZURICH, Illinois, November 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Fenwal Inc., a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, separation, safety and availability, announced today William H. Cork has joined the company as senior vice president and chief technology officer. Mr. Cork, 50, will lead Fenwal's research and development, regulatory and clinical affairs teams, reporting to Ron K. Labrum, Fenwal's president and chief executive officer.

Mr. Cork joins Fenwal from Northbrook, Illinois-based Nanosphere Inc. , where he was chief technology officer and vice president of research and development since 2001. Nanosphere focuses on molecular diagnostic testing.

Prior to this, Mr. Cork was vice president of research and development for Fenwal (then a division of Baxter International), where he led the development and global commercialization of platelet and cell-collection technologies, including Fenwal's Amicus and CS-3000 separator portfolios.

Bill is a strong and experienced scientific leader, with deep knowledge of advanced molecular science, software development and transfusion medicine with clinical relationships worldwide, Labrum said. His decade-long tenure with us in the 1990s was one of the most innovative and productive periods in Fenwal's recent history.

Mr. Cork holds more than 15 medical-technology patents and has another seven pending. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Northwestern University, where he also minored in biomedical engineering. Mr. Cork replaces Hiroshi Uchida as a member of Fenwal's executive team. Mr. Uchida transitioned last month to Fenwal's board of directors.

Fenwal Inc. is a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, separation, safety and availability for patient care. Fenwal became an independent company in 2007, but its roots go back to 1949 with the founding of Fenwal Laboratories. Fenwal developed the first flexible, disposable container for blood collection, eliminating complications associated with glass containers and allowing blood to be separated into therapeutic components. Today, the company's products and advanced collection and separation technologies are used throughout the world to help ensure a safe and available supply of lifesaving blood and blood products. Fenwal Inc. is based in Lake Zurich, Illinois. For more information, please visit www.fenwalinc.com.

SOURCE: Fenwal Inc.

CONTACT: Tanya Tyska of Fenwal Inc., +1-847-550-2732,tanya.tyska@fenwalinc.com