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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
DATE OF REPORT (date of earliest event reported): December 16, 1997
Commission File Number: 0-28278
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AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
FLORIDA 59-2554729
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(State or other Jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
incorporation or organization)
2800 DISCOVERY DRIVE, ORLANDO, FLORIDA 32826
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(Address of principal executive offices)
(407) 384-1600
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(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
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Item 5. Other Events
The Company has accepted the resignation of G. Richard Downes, Jr. from the
Board of Directors and announced the election of Whitney A. McFarlin to the
Board of Directors to maintain the number of directors at seven. The Company's
press release in the matter is attached as Exhibit I.
Item 7. Financial Statements & Exhibits
Exhibits
EX99.1 Press Release issued December 22, 1997 by the Registrant
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
/s/Randy W. Frey
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Randy W. Frey, Chairman of the Board,
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dated: December 23, 1997
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[AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
LOGO APPEARS HERE]
COMPANY CONTACT: INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS:
Randy Frey Bruce Voss/[email protected]
CEO OLGA FLEMING/[email protected]
AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGIES LIPPERT/HEILSHORN & ASSOCIATES, INC.
(407) 384-1600 (212) 838-3777
[email protected] [email protected]
AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGIES APPOINTS
WHITNEY A. MCFARLIN TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- FDA COMPLETES CLINICAL SITE AUDITS WITH NO CITATIONS -
- -COMPANY RECEIVES APPROVAL TO SHIP LADARVISION(R) SYSTEMS TO ITALY AND THE U.K.-
ORLANDO, Fla., DECEMBER 22, 1997, Autonomous Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ
NM: ATCI) today announced the election of Mr. Whitney A. McFarlin to the
Company's Board of Directors, replacing Mr. G. Richard Downes, Jr. Mr.
McFarlin, 57, is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of
Minnesota-based Angeion Corporation (Nasdaq: ANGN). The Company's number of
Board members remains at seven.
Mr. McFarlin has over 20 years experience in medical device businesses,
including executive positions at Medtronic, Everest & Jennings, Clarus Medical
and Angeion. Angeion is a developer and manufacturer of implantable
cardioverter defibrillators and catheter ablation systems for the fast-growing
$1 billion tachyarrythmia market. At Angeion, Mr. McFarlin has been responsible
for managing substantial and complex intellectual property negotiations, moving
a Class III medical device forward through the clinical process toward U.S.
Premarket Approval, and raising significant amounts of equity capital through
secondary stock offerings and strategic partner alliances.
"Whit's experience in the medical device industry and leading technology
development efforts will be invaluable to Autonomous' success as we approach the
U.S. market with the LADARVision(R) System. He supports our belief that
Autonomous offers ophthalmologists the best technology platform to serve
patients seeking laser vision correction," stated Randy W. Frey, President and
CEO of Autonomous Technologies.
Mr. McFarlin, a registered professional engineer and author of several patents,
also serves on the Board of Directors of Zero Corporation (NYSE:ZRO), Medical
Alley, a Minnesota-based trade association for companies and organizations in
health care, and Clarus Medical Systems, Inc., a private company that he co-
founded in 1987. He holds an MS degree in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M
University, a BS in Physics and Mathematics from Henderson College, and attended
the Executive Development Program at UCLA.
"This is a very exciting time for Autonomous," continued Frey. "Currently, we
are preparing for an FDA panel meeting on our LADARVision System during the
first quarter of 1998, and believe that the expertise of our Board will be
instrumental in guiding this product through to commercialization. We are also
pleased to report that the FDA has completed their audit of the clinical
investigation sites and issued no citations, or Form 483's."
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AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGIES APPOINTS WHITNEY A. MCFARLIN TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Page 2
Frey added that Autonomous has received foreign regulatory approval to ship the
LADARVision System to Italy and the U.K. The company has already shipped one
unit to Italy, and is planning to ship another to the U.K in the near future.
Autonomous Technologies is engaged in the design and development of next-
generation excimer laser instruments for laser refractive surgery. The
company's LADARVision System combines high speed, laser radar eye tracking with
precisely controlled narrow beam shaping technology.
The statements in this press release which express belief, anticipation or
expectations, such as the anticipated FDA panel meeting, product shipping plans,
as well as other statements which are not historical fact, are forward looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or
performance of the Company to differ materially from the results or performance
described herein. Please see the Forms 10-K, 10-Q's and other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission for a statement of certain risks and
uncertainties.
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