Velan Announces the Appointment of Stephen Cherlet to the Position of Chief Operations Officer (COO)

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Dec. 8, 2011) - Velan Inc. (TSX:VLN) is pleased to announce that effective immediately, Stephen Cherlet is appointed Chief Operations Officer (COO). Mr. Cherlet previously held the position of Executive Vice President Operations. In his new expanded role, Mr. Cherlet will continue to report to Tom Velan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

In his role as COO, Mr. Cherlet will have the overall responsibility for North American production, our TPI (Total Process Improvement) program, Health and Safety; Inventory management, Procurement, Global Information Technology, Capital Investment and production technology. He will also oversee the Company operations in China, South Korea, Portugal and Taiwan and have more involvement in our other subsidiaries.

Stephen Cherlet has 30 years of experience in production and information technology of which 15 years has been with the company. He has been Executive Vice President Operations for the last 5 years. He led our North American operations through a 90% increase in billings between 2004 and 2008, and has been the leader in the development and implementation of many strategic projects for the company. As a black belt in Lean Six Sigma, Stephen Cherlet is focused on improving our global operations, improving output based on our record order backlog, and facing the tough challenges in competing on the global market.

About Velan: Velan Inc. is a world leading manufacturer of industrial valves. The company employs 1900 people and has manufacturing plants in nine countries. Velan Inc. is a public company with its shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VLN.

Tom Velan

President and Chief Executive Officer