CardiAQ Appoints Managers to Oversee Compassionate Feasibility Study

Irvine, Calif.-based CardAQ Valve Technologies Inc. has named Jack Lips its new clinical specialist manager and Steven Marmon its new clinical trial manager. In these positions, they are individually responsible for differing aspects of overseeing the current Compassionate Feasibility Study, as well as initiating and managing the definitive multinational CE mark clinical trial for the purpose of seeking marketing approval in Europe of the company’s proprietary trans-femoral (TF) and trans-apical (TA) systems for transcatheter mitral valve implantation (TMVI).

CardiAQ’s system is designed to be implanted into a beating heart, thereby avoiding open-heart surgery. The procedures are meant to be performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory or hybrid operating room. Ultimately, the procedure is hoped to result in less trauma to the patient and substantial potential cost-savings to the healthcare system

“The start of our definitive clinical trial for CE marking in early 2015 will be a very significant milestone for CardiAQ in the process of clinically validating our two TMVI Systems,” said CEO Rob Michiels. “I am personally thrilled that Steven and Jack have again elected to join me in the realization of yet another frontier in medicine.”

“Together [Jack and Steven] were instrumental in the multinational expansion of the CoreValve TAVR technology, and we look forward to having them apply their forty years of collective clinical and medical device experience to help bring CardiAQ’s TMVI technology to patients in need,” said Brent Ratz, co-founder, president and COO of CardiAQ.

Prior to joining CardiAQ, Lips most recently held similar responsibilities at CoreValve (Medtronic), one of the pioneer organizations in TAVR. He also served in clinical management roles at St. Jude Medical, Novoste and InterVentional Technologies. Prior to joining the medical device industry, Lips served in a variety of clinical and supervisory positions at the catheterization laboratory of the Medical Centre De Klokkenberg in Breda, The Netherlands. He is fluent in several languages and holds a nursing certificate from Nursing School St Ignatius-De Borg in Breda, The Netherlands.

Marmon most recently held similar responsibilities at CoreValve. He also served in clinical, sales, and marketing management roles at St. Jude/Daig and InterVentional Technologies. Prior to joining the medical device industry, Marmon served in a variety of clinical and managerial positions at the catheterization laboratory of the East Tennessee Baptist Hospital in Knoxville, Tenn. He maintains RCIS, ACLS and EMT credentialing and holds a B.A. in business administration from National University.