Calyxo Expands Board of Directors

Calyxo, Inc., has appointed Dana G. Mead, Jr. to its board of directors, and it has reached more than 20,000 patients treated to date with the CVAC System, further establishing the technology as a new standard in kidney stone care.

The company marked key milestones as the adoption of the steerable ureteroscopic renal evacuation (SURE) procedure using the company’s CVAC System continues to accelerate.

Mead brings four decades of medical device operating and investing experience to the Calyxo Board. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Inspire Medical Systems, Pulmonx, and several commercial-stage private companies. He was a board member of Intersect ENT before its acquisition by Medtronic in 2021, and of Inari Medical before Stryker acquired the company earlier this year. 

“Calyxo is at an exciting inflection point. The company’s rapid growth reflects strong physician confidence and a clear need for innovation in kidney stone care. I’m inspired by the team’s commitment to advancing patient outcomes and look forward to helping guide this next chapter of growth as the company continues to scale,” said Mead.

Other past board appointments include Teladoc Health. From 2019 to 2021, he was President and CEO of HeartFlow. From 2016 to 2019, he was President and CEO of BVI. Before that, he was a Life Science Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a leading venture capital firm, and served in a series of general management roles of increasing responsibility at Guidant.

“Dana will be an asset to our board. We value his extensive and broad experience across public and private medtech companies of all sizes as we continue to experience positive momentum and growing adoption of the CVAC System,” said Joe Catanese, CEO of Calyxo. “Reaching the significant milestone of 20,000 patients treated shows that more physicians are embracing the SURE procedure with the CVAC System, which is designed to achieve greater kidney stone clearance, and marks an important inflection point in Calyxo’s growth story.”

Data presented last month at the 42nd World Congress of Endourology and Uro-Technology (WCET) in Phoenix, Arizona showed the second-generation CVAC System is safe and effective at removing stones, with a mean stone clearance of 94-96%.1 

Two-year data from the landmark ASPIRE study showed treatment with SURE using the company’s CVAC System resulted in 73% fewer healthcare consumption events (such as emergency room visits, hospitalizations, or retreatment*) compared to standard ureteroscopy (URS).2 

The study demonstrated residual stone volume was the only significant predictor of post-procedure healthcare consumption events, besides age. This growing body of evidence supporting the safety and effectiveness of the CVAC System is encouraging more urologists to adopt the technology in their practices.

References:

1. Eisner et al. MP16: 17 Prospective Evaluation of Steerable Ureteroscopic Renal Evacuation with the Second-Generation CVAC® Aspiration System: Findings from the CLEARANCE Study. Conference Presentation, WCET 2025.

2. Stern et al. MP16: 01 Steerable ureteroscopic renal evacuation reduces the risk of healthcare consumption events at 2 years compared to standard ureteroscopy (URS). Conference Presentation, WCET 2025.

* Limited to retreatments likely due to residual stones at the end of the procedure.